Rape Suspect Escapes Austria, Gets Indefinite Leave to Remain in UK
Omar Ali Noori, 31, fled Austria after being arrested in 2018 over rape allegations. Despite being on bail, he escaped to Britain in 2019. Shockingly, the Home Office handed him indefinite leave to remain in 2023—even though he hid a criminal past and used four different identities and five separate birthdates on official forms.
Noori’s 23-year-old wife later joined him in the UK, thanks to family reunification rules.
Judge Brands Noori a ‘Fugitive’ After Home Office Bungle Uncovered
The blunder only surfaced during extradition hearings, where Judge Neeta Minhas slammed Noori for lying on his asylum application. She said:
“Noori was directly asked if he had committed or been accused of an offence in any country or whether he had been detained. His answer was a flat no. This was clearly not accurate.”
The judge ordered Noori extradited back to Austria to serve his prison sentence. For years, he slipped through the cracks thanks to the Home Office’s failure to spot fake identities or link him to Austrian criminal records.
Noori Held at Wandsworth Prison While Appeal Looms
Currently locked up at Wandsworth, Noori plans to appeal his extradition – likely delaying his return to face justice. His wife’s successful UK entry proves how fraud can stretch to families too.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
“This individual’s extradition proceedings are ongoing. We review immigration statuses when fraud or false representation is uncovered.”
“We will not let foreign criminals exploit our laws. We are reforming human rights laws and fixing the flawed appeals system to speed up deportations.”
Systemic Failures Exposed Amid Rising Afghan Arrivals
This mess comes as Britain grapples with a surge of Afghan asylum seekers. Since October 2021, over 35,000 Afghans have applied for asylum, with 37,000+ granted staying rights under special relocation schemes—totalling 72,000 arrivals.
Noori’s case highlights glaring holes: multiple fake IDs, bogus birthdates, dodged criminal history, and gaps in Europe-wide info sharing let a rape suspect live undetected in the UK for four years.
Meanwhile, another Afghan asylum seeker, Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was recently convicted of raping and abducting a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, adding to fears over security and vetting.
The Home Office’s wait-until-fraud-appears approach and cross-border tracking failures reveal a system ripe for abuse. Noori remains behind bars, but the drawn-out appeal process means justice could be delayed for months or even years.
With promised reforms still stuck in Parliament, cases like Noori’s show the urgent need to overhaul Britain’s asylum and deportation systems before more dangerous criminals slip through.
