A migrant who arrived in the UK via a small boat before raping a 15-year-old girl, lived a luxurious lifestyle across Europe before entering the country. Sadeq Nikzad was jailed for nine years in June for the “harrowing attack” on the child in Falkirk, Scotland, in October 2023.
Detective Inspector Forbes Wilson, from the Forth Valley Public Protection Unit, said: “This was a particularly harrowing attack which was carried out during daylight in a busy town centre. Nikzad’s heinous actions had a profound effect on his young victim and I would like to commend her strength throughout this ordeal.” Nikzad, 29, travelled 4,000 miles across Europe before making the crossing over the English Channel, where he was pictured wearing designer clothes and visiting tourist attractions in cities such as Rome and Paris.
It has since emerged the predator had enjoyed a comfortable existence as he made his way across Europe, documenting his adventures on social media.
Nikzad visited cities such as Cologne, Turin, Rome and Paris, with photographs on his Instagram showing him sporting expensive North Face coats, staying in fancy hotels and posing in designer suits before making the crossing on a small boat.
Scottish Conservatives safety spokeswoman Sharon Dowey said: “People will be appalled at how this now convicted rapist was able to brazenly make his way illegally across Europe.
“They will also be sickened by these images of him enjoying himself at world-renowned tourist attractions before coming into the UK.”
During his trial, Nikzad had attempted to convince the jury that he “misunderstood” the victim’s lack of interest due to a “cultural barrier”, arguing that behaviour that is illegal in the UK was commonly accepted in his home country.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This is a sickening case of an illegal immigrant from Afghanistan raping a 15-year-old girl and then trying to blame his appalling crime on cultural differences.
“It is especially galling that he travelled through multiple obviously safe countries where he could easily have claimed asylum if he really needed to.
“Men with Afghan nationality are around 20 times more likely to commit sex offences, so this case is tragically not an isolated one.”
Whilst Philp’s statistics are disputed by some, the case represents growing public anger amongst large sections of the public about the government’s approach to migration and crime committed by those seeking asylum.
On Saturday demonstrations under the Abolish Asylum System slogan were held across England, Scotland and Wales, including in Bristol, Liverpool, Wakefield, Newcastle, Exeter, Mold, Perth, Nuneaton, Tamworth, Cannock, Aberdeen, Horley and Canary Wharf.
