T
hree members of a Rochdale grooming gang face possible deportation to Pakistan after Cou
rt of Appeal judges upheld a decision to strip them of their British citiz
enship, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
They had acquired British citiz
enship by naturalisation.
Abdul Aziz, Adil Khan and Qari Abdul Rauf
were among nine men of Pakistani and Afghan descent convicted of luring girls as young as 13 into sexual encounters using alcohol and drugs. They
were based in Rochdale, in northern England.
The t
hree men
were jailed in May 2012 but
were later released on licence. The gang’s ringleader, Shabir Ahmed, was sentenced to 22 years in jail and remains in custody.
Aziz, Khan and Rauf
were convicted on conspiracy and trafficking for sexual exploitation charges. Aziz was not convicted of having sexual intercourse with any child.
The case centres on a decision by Prime Minister Theresa May, when she was home secretary, to strip the men’s citiz
enship “for the public good”.
The men had challenged the government decision at two immigration tribunals, arguing revoking their citiz
enship would violate their human right to a family life, as they have children living in the UK. Their appeals
were dismissed.
The convicts then approached the Cou
rt of Appeal, senior judges of which ruled on Wednesday that the previous tribunals had made a “proper and lawful assessment” of the likelihood of deportation. A person can be deprived of British citiz
enship for the public good on the grounds of “involvement in terrorism, espionage, serious organised crime, war crimes or unacceptable behaviours”.
After serving their sentences, the three convicts will have a further legal right to appeal their deportation and the process could take months, according to the BBC.
It quoted a Home Office spokeswoman as saying: “This was an appalling case. We welcome the court’s finding and will now consider next steps.” The five victims of the gang who gave evidence in the 2012 trial
were all white, and spoke of being raped, assaulted and traded for sex, being passed from man to man, and sometimes being too drunk to stop the abuses. The men, ranging in age from 22 to 59, used various defences, including claiming the girls
were prostitutes.
Published in Daily Times, August 10th 2018.
