Three Afghan nationals laughed and celebrated after raping a 17-year-old girl and fleeing the UK in the back of a lorry, a court has heard. Mehrab Safi, 21, filmed his two friends Awal Ahmadzai and Salman Habibkheil, both 19, in the getaway vehicle three days after they raped the teenager at a house in Bristol. Mobile phone footage recovered from Safi’s phone showed the three defendants in the back of the lorry, with Habibkheil making hand gestures to the camera and laughing.
Discovery and Arrest in France
They were discovered by French authorities soon after arriving in Calais and returned to the UK, where they were immediately arrested on suspicion of rape, alongside a 17-year-old boy. Edd Hetherington, prosecuting, told the jury: "It is a direct insight into the mood of the three, we suggest, as they travel out of the UK and into France. The prosecution says Safi is the one who, in the course of this journey, takes his phone out and starts filming. Mr Habibkheil is the man in the corner gesturing and laughing, and Mr Ahmadzai is having a lie down on wherever it is that’s being transported legitimately in the back of that lorry. We suggest they are celebrating because they think they have got away with it."
Details of the Attack
The attack happened days after the girl had met Safi while Christmas shopping with a friend in Bristol city centre. The court heard Safi groomed the girl on Snapchat – including asking for nude photos from her – before arranging for a taxi to bring her to Bristol in the early hours of November 30. At the property, the girl was provided with cigarettes and vodka before being raped by Safi and Habibkheil. After falling asleep, she was raped and sexually assaulted by Ahmadzai, and then raped by the 17-year-old boy. Later that morning, the girl was raped again by Safi.
Convictions and Sentencing
Safi was convicted of one count of human trafficking and two charges of rape, Habibkheil of one count of human trafficking and one charge of rape, and Ahmadzai of one charge of rape and one of assault by penetration. The 17-year-old boy was convicted on one charge of rape. They will all be sentenced on October 6.
