MP Defends Decision to Unmask Asylum Seeker Rapist After Court Gagging Order
Reform MP Lee Anderson has insisted the public deserved to know the truth about an asylum seeker rapist, after it was revealed a judge had imposed a reporting restriction preventing the press from disclosing the offender's immigration status until after his trial concluded.
Conviction and Exposure
Pakistani national Sheraz Malik, aged 28, was found guilty on Monday of two counts of rape at Birmingham Crown Court. The jury reached its verdict after just a few hours of deliberation. The court heard how Malik and a friend targeted a vulnerable 18-year-old girl in Sutton Lawn park, within Mr Anderson's Ashfield constituency, in June last year.
Mr Anderson first publicly identified Malik as an asylum seeker following his arrest in 2023. However, at a hearing in September, Judge Nirmal Shant imposed an order that postponed publication of Malik's asylum status until the trial's conclusion, citing a need to avoid "a substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice."
"The Public Deserves Better"
Following the guilty verdict, Mr Anderson stated: "It's obvious that the police and the whole judiciary were very reluctant to allow the public the true identity of this vile creature. The public deserves better which is why I exposed the truth."
The MP had previously taken to social media platforms X and Facebook last summer to claim he had been asked by police not to publicise the case for fear of jeopardising the prosecution. In a defiant post, he wrote: "Enough is enough... Why would it affect the trial... I will not shut up and do not care about the consequences." His actions reportedly triggered an anti-immigrant protest in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
Disturbing Details of the Attack
The six-day trial heard harrowing details of the assault. The victim had been in the park with a friend who briefly left her, asking a group of men playing cricket nearby to keep an eye on her. Instead, one of the men led her to a secluded area and raped her. The court was told that Malik then dragged her by her hair to a tree before carrying out his own attack.
In a distressing text sent during the ordeal, the victim begged a friend: "please help me." Jurors heard that after the attack, Malik asked the teenager: "Did you enjoy that?"
Background and Aftermath
The trial revealed that Malik, who told housemates he was smuggled into Britain in the boot of a car, had previously lived in Italy, Germany, and France before arriving in the UK. At the time of the offence, he was living in taxpayer-funded accommodation.
During proceedings, when asked why he took advantage of the victim, Malik replied: "What else was I supposed to do?" He also protested when questioned about how he arrived in Europe, with Judge Simon Ash intervening to side with the defendant on the relevance of that line of questioning.
The trial was moved from Nottingham to Birmingham due to the increased publicity surrounding the case. Malik's alleged accomplice, identified by police as an Afghan national, is believed to be abroad and remains at large. Malik is due to be sentenced at a later date.
