'Bisexual' Iraqi asylum seeker who arrived in UK on small boat jailed for raping woman at hostel

An Iraqi asylum seeker who arrived in the UK illegally on a small boat has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for raping a woman at a London hostel.

Yousif Al-Maliki, 30, attacked a woman he had just met on August 1 last year while staying in a 12-bed dormitory at the Astor Hostel in South Kensington.

Al-Maliki was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after a jury found him guilty during a week-long trial in March.

Judge Hehir told the 30-year-old Iraqi: “You were just not prepared to take no for an answer for her.

"Your intentions in the hours before the rape was to have sex with her.

“You decided you would have sex with her come what may, whether she consented or not.

"You raped her... she made it perfectly clear to you she didn't want sex."

The Iraqi national, who had denied the charge of rape, said he came to the UK while “fleeing torture” in Baghdad.

The prosecution claims the defendant was previously deported but that he came back to the UK in September 2024.

They claim he was given money by the Home Office because he had no right to work.

Al-Maliki was staying in Home Office-approved accommodation at Peckham Lodge Hotel when he was charged with rape.

At trial, the defence said Al-Maliki is a bisexual Iraqi national who accepts he arrived in the UK illegally but says he was seeking refuge from persecution.

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During the trial, the court heard that Al-Maliki’s asylum application had been put on hold until the conclusion of the criminal case.

GB News understands his asylum application has now been withdrawn due to non-compliance.

Al-Maliki is eligible for the government’s early removal scheme.

At sentencing, Judge Hehir told the defendant: “As a convicted rapist, I cannot see how it is at all in the public interest to keep you in this country when you’re eligible for deportation.”

Reacting to this sentencing, Detective Constable Benjamin Davies, who led the investigation for the Metropolitan Police, said: “The victim in this case showed immense bravery in coming forward and reporting what happened to police.

“Her evidence was pivotal in Al-Maliki’s conviction, alongside the quick work of officers who identified and arrested him after carrying out urgent enquiries to establish his location.

“We hope this demonstrates our commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, targeting dangerous offenders and removing them from London’s streets.”

A Home Office spokesman said: "Sexual violence is one of the most horrific crimes and has a devastating, long-term impact. Our thoughts are first and foremost with the victim, and we share the public's outrage at this vile individual's abhorrent actions. The perpetrator has rightly been convicted, and justice has been delivered. We seek to deport all foreign criminals as soon as we can.”

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