Three Afghan nationals who fled the country after grooming and raping a teenage girl in Bristol in November 2025 were sentenced at Bristol Crown Court today.
Mehrab Safi, 21, Awal Ahmadzai, 19, and Salman Habibkheil, 19, filmed themselves “celebrating” as they escaped the UK in the back of a lorry three days after they, and an Afghan boy, 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons, raped the girl, 17.
Mehrab Safi has been handed a prison sentence of 15 years after being found guilty of one count of human trafficking and two charges of rape.
Salman Habibkheil has been sentenced to nine years detention after a jury found him guilty of one count of human trafficking and one charge of rape.
Awal Ahmadzai was sentenced to nine years detention after being found guilty of one charge of rape and one of assault by penetration.
A 17-year-old boy, who is also an Afghan national, was found guilty of one count of rape and sentenced to three years detention, minus 104 days already spent in custody.
Sentencing, His Honour Judge Cullum, said: “Having been trafficked for the purpose of committing a sexual offence she was raped five times and subjected to a sexual assault by penetration. The accumulative trauma will undoubtedly live with her forever, and is unimaginable.”
The four Afghan defendants communicated through an interpreter, and spoke only to confirm their names.
Some of the defendants were seen smiling and waving at friends sitting in the public gallery for the sentencing.
The attack happened days after the girl had met Safi while Christmas shopping with a friend in Bristol city centre.
Safi groomed the girl on Snapchat – including asking for nude photos from her – before arranging for a taxi to bring her to Bristol in the early hours of November 30.
Mehrab Safi, Awal Ahmadzai and Salman Habibkheil were sentenced today
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HANDOUT
At the property, the girl was provided with cigarettes and vodka before being raped by Safi and Habibkheil.
After falling asleep, she was raped and sexually assaulted by Ahmadzai and then raped by the 17-year-old boy.
Later that morning the girl was raped again by Safi.
Police had traced the girl to a house in the St Werburghs area of Bristol after her mother reported her missing and arrested the 17-year-old defendant when he answered the door to the property.
The attack happened days after the victim met Mehrab Safi while Christmas shopping with a friend in Bristol
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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The three older co-accused fled the house as the police arrived and travelled to both Birmingham and London.
Edd Hetherington, prosecuting, said: “You might have heard reports from time to time about people concealing themselves in the back of a lorry and crossing the Channel,” he said.
“In a deeply unusual turn of events, the defendants Safi, Habibkheil and Ahmadzai, chose to use this mode of transportation to leave the UK rather than enter.
“Unfortunately for them, they were discovered by the French police in Calais.
”They were then returned to the UK and immediately arrested by the police on suspicion of rape.
The defendants had denied all the charges, claiming it was consensual, but the jury found them all guilty after two days of deliberations.
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Cable of Avon and Somerset Police, speaking after the case, said: “These four people exploited a vulnerable young girl purely for the purposes of their own sexual gratification.
“They are dangerous individuals who pose a significant threat to young women and girls and gave not a single thought to the welfare of the victim.”
Sally Helliwell, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The young victim in this case was targeted, groomed, and then lured to an unfamiliar city, miles from home in the dead of night.
“Isolated and alone, she was plied with alcohol and then raped and abused over several hours by four different people.
“It was clear throughout that she did not consent.
“Thankfully, the three men who fled in such a cowardly manner were swiftly returned to the UK to face justice.”