Abdul Ezedi: Documents reveal why Clapham chemical attacker was granted asylum – photos show him being baptized | UK news

Documents revealing why Clapham chemical attacker Abdul Ezedi – a convicted sex offender – was granted asylum have been made public for the first time, with Sky News obtaining photos of him being baptized in a church.

Ezedi attacked a woman and two children with alkali on a street in south London in January.

The Home Office twice refused asylum to a 35-year-old man from Afghanistan after he arrived in the UK by lorry in 2016.

The second denial was overturned by a judge at an appeal hearing in October 2020 due to Ezedi’s claims that he had converted to Christianity.

The vicar supported the suggestion that he would face persecution if he returned to Afghanistan.

Judge WK O’Hanlon, who granted Ezedi asylum at Newcastle Immigration Court in November 2020, said in his judgment that “the most compelling evidence was that of former Reverend Merrin”.

Details of this hearing were not initially made public, but Sky News can now reveal exactly what happened after receiving the full court documents.

“Baptized by Total Immersion”

A letter written to the court by the Reverend Roy Merrin, retired pastoral leader at Grange Road Baptist Church in Jarrow, dated August 28, 2018, reads: ‘I have known Abdul since February 2016, when he regularly attended services at the church Border Road.”

“Abdul attended the Alpha Course organized by the church and as a result of coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, he was baptized by total immersion.”

“Abdul has developed good relationships with other members of the Church and is always willing to help when needed. “In addition, Abdul is willing to share his faith in Christ with non-Christians.”

Rev Merrin also told the court, when he appeared in person, that he had already appeared before tribunals for four other asylum seekers, all of whom had successful appeals.

Sky News contacted Reverend Merrin who said he had nothing to say.

Also submitted to the tribunal hearing were photos from Ezedi’s baptism, which took place on June 24, 2018, as well as photos showing him engaging in what his legal team described as “street ministry.”

The church needs a “supportive man.”

But the documents also included an undated “protection agreement” for Ezedi, prepared by Baptists Together, stating: “This agreement was entered into because of a conviction for sexual assault and endangerment.”

Among other things, Ezedi agreed “not to enter the church without [his] presence of a male supporter” and “will only come to church for the Sunday service.”

It was while in the UK as a non-asylum seeker that Ezedi pleaded guilty in January 2018 at Newcastle Crown Court to one count of sexual assault and one count of exposure. He was given a suspended prison sentence and placed in a detention center for sex offenders. register.

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Ezedi was twice denied asylum

The tribunal judgment that granted asylum to Ezedi makes no mention of these convictions. Court documents also revealed more about why Ezedi was twice denied asylum.

Ezedi’s initial asylum application after arriving in the country in 2016 was based on fears that he would be persecuted because of his ethnicity. This claim described him as a Shia Muslim.

The Home Office rejected the claim in May 2016, and it was rejected again on appeal in February 2017. By June 2017, Ezedi had run out of appeals and was living illegally in the UK.

It was in March 2019 that Ezedi submitted a new asylum application to the Ministry of Interior, claiming that he had converted to Christianity and that if he returned to Afghanistan he would face persecution because of it.

The Home Office rejected this application in March 2020 because it did not believe his conversion was genuine.

Asylum seekers have the right to appeal against the Home Office’s refusal, and Ezedi and his lawyers then put together a package of documents that were presented to a judge at a tribunal hearing that ended with him being granted asylum.

A Home Office spokesman said: “All asylum applications are carefully considered on their individual merits, in line with immigration rules.

“This means that religious conversion does not guarantee asylum.

“We have engaged with a number of stakeholders to help us improve our policy guidance, training for asylum decision-makers and to ensure that we appropriately address religious conversion claims.”

Baptists Together told Sky News: “Baptists Together did not corporately support or sponsor Abdul Ezedi’s asylum application. A personal letter of support, in which he comments only on Abdul Ezedi’s observed faith journey, was written by a retired Baptist pastor.

“The conservation agreement was a separate issue and was agreed between the church and Abdul Ezedi, with the support of local and regional conservation leaders using our then national model document.

“This was intended to show that the church had sufficiently assessed the risk of Abdul Ezedi’s presence in the church, ensuring the safety of the congregation and having considered whether his presence was appropriate.

“The Home Office makes the final decision on asylum applications and has access to full criminal record data to enable it to do so.”

Additional reporting by Nick Stylianou, Community Producer