Rapist who fled court during a lunch break while on trial is caught after eight years on the run in Europe – and jailed for seven years
- Sarbaz Najmadeen Ali is finally in jail after his rape conviction in 2013
- He was recognized by the German police on appeal from the BBC and extradited to France
A rapist who fled court during a lunch break in his trial has been caught on the run after eight years when he was recognized by German police in a Crimewatch appeal.
Sarbaz Najmadeen Ali, 36, who used to be a hairdresser, fled Hove Crown Court during his trial for rape and assault in 2014 before disappearing to Europe.
But he was spotted in Germany before being extradited to France, where he was jailed for a year for assault in another incident. Ali was then sent to Britain, where he has now spent seven years in Lewes Crown Court.
In 2014, Ali was convicted by the Hove Crown Court of absence rape, attempted rape, penetrative assault and two counts of assault committed a year earlier in 2013 against a 33-year-old man in Hastings known to him.
During that trial, Ali had been granted bail, which allowed him to leave the harbor during the lunch hour, as long as he did not leave the court. But during the judge’s summary, Ali fled and disappeared, while the jury had to convict him in his absence.
Sarbaz Najmadeen Ali was formerly a hairdresser and lived in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex
An arrest warrant was issued for Ali and Sussex Police issued an appeal to track him down. His case was later featured on the BBC’s Crimewatch ‘Most Wanted’ call.
Ali – who used to live in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex – had been arrested in Regensburg in Germany and while he was being investigated for offenses there, a German police officer recognized him from the Crimewatch photographs.
The officer then contacted Sussex Police and told them that Ali was in their custody, but was subsequently extradited to France for crimes committed there before a European Arrest Warrant could be executed.
After a prison sentence in France, he was arrested there and extradited back to the UK. On his return to the UK, Ali appeared at Lewes Crown Court.
In 2014, Ali was convicted by the Hove Crown Court in his absence after fleeing the court
At that hearing, he was sentenced to seven years in prison, plus an additional three years of probation. An extended permit means it will be monitored and set to further protect the public from dangerous offenders.
He was also sentenced to a lifetime preventive measure of sexual harm, which will limit his access to children under the age of 16. This to reflect his risk to young people after his conviction in France.
Sussex Police Detective Julian Stokes said: ‘There must be admiration for the courageous victim, who testified at the trial in 2014 and waited more than eight years for justice following Ali’s conviction.
“This shows that Sussex Police will go to extraordinary lengths to bring dangerous offenders like Ali back to the UK to face trial.”