Two more migrants living in taxpayer-funded hotels in England have been accused of separate attacks on women, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
A 26-year-old asylum seeker, staying at the Thistle City Barbican in central London, was arrested on suspicion of strangling a 20-year-old woman, then threatening her in the street just a day later.
Shockingly, despite the alleged assault taking place in March, he is still free to roam the streets after he was arrested and released under an investigation which is still ongoing. Police admitted the probe had ‘taken longer than we would ideally have wanted’.
The victim was allegedly cat-called by a man as she walked past the entrance to the migrant accommodation, followed by the alleged attack the following day in a nearby Tesco store.
He allegedly grabbed her by the neck and assaulted her. She was then said to be ‘terrified’ to see the suspect walking around the area in the days after his arrest.
The MoS can reveal that in a second incident, in Rugby, Warwickshire, an illegal immigrant has been charged with the sexual assault of a woman, about two miles from the Ibis hotel where he has been staying.
Ahmed Muhammad Almahi, 32, who is from Sudan, allegedly assaulted the woman last Monday evening and was arrested the following day. He appeared before Coventry magistrates last Wednesday, and has been remanded in custody to appear at Warwick Crown Court on September 11.
News of the suspected assault has shocked local residents and led to an angry crowd of hundreds protesting outside the hotel on Friday evening and yesterday afternoon.
The alleged assault is being investigated by Warwickshire Police, which was severely criticised last week by politicians after the MoS revealed two Afghan asylum seekers, Ahmad Mulakhil and Mohammad Kabir, both 23, had been charged over the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton.
The force was accused of a ‘cover-up’ by Reform leader Nigel Farage for not revealing the immigration status of the two suspects.
The row led to Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman urging police to be more transparent with the public.
Yesterday, commenting on the London attack, the Met Police confirmed a man had been arrested on suspicion of non-fatal strangulation and a public order offence. When arrested, he was allegedly found with a bank card in another person’s name, so he was also arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.
He has since been released under investigation but has not been charged. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said that an update on the investigation will be provided to the alleged victim.
Asked by the MoS why the man had been allowed to roam the streets for so long after the alleged attack, a spokesman said: ‘It’s not always possible to charge someone immediately after arrest as there is often further evidence to gather to build a case to the required evidential standard.
‘There is no mechanism to hold a person in custody for an extended period prior to charge so either bail or release under investigation is a likely interim outcome. We acknowledge that in this case, the investigation has taken longer than we would ideally have wanted.
‘We recognise why that will have been a cause of concern for the alleged victim. We are reviewing the handling of the case to identify the cause of the delay and to ensure it can be progressed to a conclusion as soon as possible.’
On Saturday night in Warwickshire police were facing further criticism from councillors for not telling them the suspect in the Rugby attack was an illegal immigrant.
The councillors said they worked out Almahi’s immigration status and the hotel name from reading about the case on social media.
Yousef Dahmash, Tory councillor for the area where the alleged offence took place, said he had to call the police to find out what happened. When he was briefed by a police chief, he was told nothing about his immigration status.
He said: ‘I didn’t think it would prejudice someone’s case if their immigration status was revealed.’
Last night Warwickshire Police said Almahi’s immigration status came out at Coventry Magistrates Court, and this information was shared by the force with ‘community partners.’
The force said in a statement: ‘At no point has any councillor, MP or other partner, who had been briefed about this matter as set out above, come back to the force on the level of information we have released.’
