✕Close‘We will catch him, I’m wholeheartedly confident,’ says police chief
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The fugitive sex offender at the centre of a vast manhunt suspected of throwing an alkaline substance at a mother and her two children was last seen boarding a London Tube, the Metropolitan Police have said.
Abdul Shokoor Ezedi left two of his victims with potentially life-changing injuries, with Tesco CCTV images showing him with severe burn marks down the right side of his face. In all, 12 people needed hospital treatment after the “targeted” attack in Lessar Avenue, Clapham, on Wednesday evening.
It has emerged that Ezedi was convicted of a sexual offence in 2018, before being granted asylum in 2021 or 2022 from his native Afghanistan. The 35-year-old had previously been refused asylum on two occasions but was granted leave to remain after converting to Christianity.
Publishing new pictures of Ezedi at King’s Cross station, Scotland Yard said he was last seen boarding a southbound Victoria Tube at around 8pm on Wednesday.
Overnight police raids at five properties – two in the capital and three in Newcastle – uncovered “significant and important” evidence, the Met said.
Have you been affected by this? Email barney.davis@independent.co.uk
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Show latest update 1706901432
Acid attacks on women outnumber those on men for first time
The family were attacked with an alkaline substance, police say. But last year figures showed acid attacks soared by 69 per cent. Both acid and alkaline can cause serious burns:
Alarm as acid attacks soar by 69% with more women than men affected for first time
Acid attacks on women have outnumbered attacks on men for the first time, a charity has warned
Andy Gregory2 February 2024 19:171706899797
Mapped: Timeline of suspect’s last-known movements after Clapham attack
View moreAndy Gregory2 February 2024 18:491706898885
How Clapham chemical attack fugitive escaped on the Tube as last known movements revealed
Police hunting for the fugitive sex offender suspected of attacking a mother and two young girls with a corrosive substance in Clapham have revealed that he was last sighted boarding a London Tube.
You can read more about his last-known movements, and get all the updates in the latest police press conference, in this report:
How chemical attack fugitive escaped on the Tube as last known movements revealed
Police are urging Abdul Ezedi to ‘do the right thing’ and turn himself in, as they release new photos of sole Clapham attack suspect
Andy Gregory2 February 2024 18:341706897960
Labour writes to Home Office with ‘very serious’ questions about Ezedi case
Labour has written to Home secretary James Cleverly saying that the alkali substance attack “raises very serious questions” about the process that granted the main suspect asylum in Britain.
Abdul Ezedi, who is still on the run, is reportedly from Afghanistan and it is understood he was convicted of a sexual offence in 2018 and given a suspended sentence.
A letter sent by shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the attack “raises very serious questions which need to be answered about decision-making at the Home Office and the way his case was handled”.
Ms Cooper questioned whether the home secretary in 2018 “considered deportation” following Mr Ezedi’s conviction.
Suggesting he was later granted asylum in October 2020, she also asked whether the Home Office made “representations during the appeal hearing that the individual should be denied asylum because of his offending history”.
She added: “It is of real concern that a convicted foreign national sex offender has been allowed to remain in the UK in these circumstances.”
Andy Gregory2 February 2024 18:191706895192
Violence against women and girls not taken seriously, claims barrister
Dr Charlotte Proudman, a prominent women’s rights barrister who specialises in violence against women, said the Clapham chemical attack exposes the fact violence against women and girls is not taken seriously and the lenient sentences which are handed to dangerous perpetrators.
She told The Independent: “It shows a real impunity. If perpetrators are violating women and abusing them, they will carry on doing it. There is no deterrent. It is basically like the criminal justice system does not really care about the lives of women.”
Andy Gregory2 February 2024 17:331706894493
Ezedi was handed suspended sentence for sexual assault and exposure
Abdul Ezedi avoided jail when he pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and exposure, instead being handed a suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown Court on 9 January 2018, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed.
He is then understood to have challenged the Home Office’s decision to refuse him asylum by successfully lodging an appeal with the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). The body is independent of the Home Office and can overturn government decisions.
Deportation orders can also be made for some criminals, depending on the severity of their crimes. If someone has received a custodial sentence for a serious drug offence or gun crime or if they have been sentenced to jail time of 12 months or more, then they can be issued with a deportation order.
But there are no automatic rules for anyone given a suspended sentence or for criminals who commit sexual offences.
Andy Gregory2 February 2024 17:211706892672
Watch: Police make ‘personal appeal’ to Clapham chemical attack suspect
Met police make ‘personal appeal’ to Clapham chemical attack suspect as manhunt continuesAndy Gregory2 February 2024 16:511706891472
Immigration row over refugee granted asylum despite sex crimes
A row has broken out over the immigration status of the refugee being hunted over a chemical attack who was granted asylum in the UK despite being convicted of sexual offences years before.
The Home Office came under pressure to explain why Ezedi, the only suspect in the attack which left a mother with life-changing injuries and injured her two daughters, was still in the country after the sex offences – with MPs calling for an overhaul of the asylum system.
Questions have also been raised about whether the justice system is taking violence against women seriously enough after Ezedi was given a suspended sentence for his crimes – meaning he avoided a jail term of less than a year, the point at which criminal are automatically eligible for deportation.
My colleagues Holly Bancroft, Adam Forrest and Barney Davis have the full report:
Immigration row over Clapham attack refugee granted asylum despite sex crimes
Abdul Ezedi, 35, was granted asylum by the courts despite being denied the right to stay twice before
Andy Gregory2 February 2024 16:311706890778
Police publish new photo of Ezedi at location where he was last sighted
Police have now issued a new photos of Abdul Ezedi, at King’s Cross, where he was last sighted.
Alex Ross2 February 2024 16:191706889243
‘Do the right thing and hand yourself in,’ police tell Ezedi
Police have appealed directly to Abdul Ezedi to hand himself in.
Speaking at a press conference outside New Scotland Yard, Commander Jon Savell said: “Abdul, you clearly have got some very significant injuries.
“We’ve seen the images. You need some medical help. So do the right thing and hand yourself in.”
Andy Gregory2 February 2024 15:54NewerOlder✕
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