Bristol Crown Court sentences four Afghan nationals for rape and trafficking

Four Afghan nationals have been sentenced at Bristol Crown Court following the grooming and rape of a 17-year-old girl in Bristol.

Mehrab Safi, 21, received a 15-year prison sentence for human trafficking and two counts of rape. Awal Ahmadzai, 19, and Salman Habibkheil, 19, were both sentenced to nine years in detention for rape and other sexual offences. A fourth defendant, a 17-year-old Afghan national, was sentenced to two years and seven months for rape.

The court heard that Safi groomed the victim via Snapchat before arranging a taxi to bring her to a house in St Werburghs. During the incident, the victim was subjected to multiple rapes and sexual assaults. Following the crimes, Safi, Ahmadzai, and Habibkheil fled the United Kingdom in the back of a lorry, where they were eventually intercepted by French police.

In a victim impact statement, the teenager described the trauma as life-altering, stating she is a ‘different person’ and now lives in fear of leaving her house. Judge Michael Cullum noted that the victim had been trafficked for the purpose of committing sexual offences, adding that the ‘accumulative trauma’ would be unimaginable.