Fayaz Khan, 26, an Afghan national, was sentenced to five years in prison at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday for making threats to kill Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. The threat was made in a TikTok video posted last October, which a high court judge described as “pretty chilling”. Khan was also convicted of entering the UK illegally on a small boat.
The video, uploaded two days after Farage posted a YouTube video titled “the journey of an illegal migrant” that referenced Khan, showed Khan making gun gestures and saying “I’m going to pop, pop, pop”. He also pointed to an AK-47 tattoo on his face. Khan had a large online presence under the TikTok username “madapasa”, with videos attracting hundreds of thousands of views.
Farage attended the sentencing with security guards and said he was “happy with the win” but “deeply, deeply concerned” that Khan could be released in 18 months. As Khan was taken down to the cells, he shouted at Farage, accusing him of wanting to “use me because you want to be prime minister”.
The court heard that Khan had given British police a false name and age, but Swedish authorities identified him as Fayaz Husseini, aged 31. The judge ruled that Khan had given a false name because of a criminal record in Sweden and an outstanding six-month prison sentence there. Khan’s defence barrister, Charles Royle, said Khan had asked him to apologise to Farage for any offence caused.
A Home Office spokesperson welcomed the sentence, stating: “Threatening violence against anyone, particularly an elected member of parliament, is never acceptable. When foreign nationals commit serious crimes in our country, we will always do everything in our power to deport them.”
