Shabir Ahmed, the 73-year-old ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, is set to be released from prison on Thursday, July 2, after serving just 14 years of his 22-year sentence. Despite previous assurances to victims, Ahmed will not be deported and will be allowed to remain in the UK under strict licence conditions.
Victim Expresses Fear After Learning of Release via Letter
One of Ahmed's victims, known as Ruby, said she was informed of his impending release through a letter from the Probation Service. She told BBC Newsnight: 'I was 12 years old when this started and still getting failed. There are broken victims because of a broken system. I am scared for my safety and my children’s safety.' Ruby also recounted a previous encounter with another abuser at a supermarket, unaware he had been released.
Legal Barrier to Deportation
Ahmed, originally from Pakistan, cannot be deported due to a clause in the 1971 Immigration Act that protects Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 from removal. The Home Office described his crimes as 'appalling' and confirmed he will be subject to stringent licence conditions, including 24/7 supervised accommodation and an exclusion zone centred on Rochdale. If he leaves the UK, he will be barred from returning, but he cannot be forcibly deported because he has renounced his Pakistani citizenship.
Details of the Crimes
Ahmed was convicted in 2012 of 30 child rapes and sentenced to concurrent terms of 19 and 22 years at Liverpool Crown Court. He was one of nine men convicted of sexually abusing multiple children, whom they groomed at two takeaway restaurants in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, from 2008. Girls as young as 12 were plied with alcohol and drugs, gang-raped, and transported to flats where cash was exchanged for sex. Ahmed was described in court as a 'violent, hypocritical bully' who used one girl as a 'possession' for sexual gratification for over a decade.
Two Other Abusers Already Released
Two other convicted Rochdale abusers, Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, have already been released but also cannot be deported under the same 1971 Immigration Act provision. The victims continue to express distress over the system's failure to protect them and hold offenders accountable.
