Two Afghan migrants have been found guilty of raping a woman at knifepoint in an east London park while she was stargazing on a first date.
Khan Agah and Noorullah Ahmdzai, aged 26, attacked the woman and her companion in Barking Park on August 16 last year. The couple, who had met on a dating app, were lying under the night sky when the two men approached them.
The attackers immobilised the couple and threatened the man with a knife, warning they would kill him if he tried to call the police. They then sexually assaulted the woman.
A jury convicted both men of the attack following a trial in which the specific details of the assault were laid out in full.
DNA links attackers to crime
During the trial, the court heard that authorities connected Agah and Ahmdzai to the crime using DNA evidence found on the victim's clothing. Jurors rejected a claim by one of the defendants that the sexual encounter was consensual, returning guilty verdicts after nine hours of deliberation.
The prosecutor described the assault as a terrifying knifepoint rape, adding that the men had treated the victim as an object they could use and abuse.
Illegal entry to Britain
Both men had entered the UK illegally. Ahmdzai arrived in Britain on a small boat in August 2023. Small boat crossings across the English Channel have become a prominent political issue in the UK, with consecutive governments seeking to deter migrants from making the dangerous journey.
Following his arrival, Ahmdzai was housed in a London hotel while his asylum claim was processed. His application was later rejected, and he had begun an appeals process.
Agah also arrived in the UK illegally. During the trial, he attempted to claim that he was a minor at the time of the attack. However, court documents indicated a different age, prompting the court to request a special report to formally determine how old he is.
Barking Park is a large public space in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, offering parkland and facilities to local residents.
The two men are due to be sentenced in October. British authorities are considering deporting them once they have served their prison terms.
