Abdul Ezedi, the suspect in an alkali attack in south London, was granted asylum after being convicted of sex offences, it has emerged.
(Pictured Abdul Ezedi, Cred: Metropolitan Police)
The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed Ezedi was sentenced on January 9 2018 after pleading guilty to one charge of sexual assault and one of exposure.
He was granted asylum after two failed attempts, having reportedly travelled to the UK on a lorry in 2016, it is believed.
Ezedi, who is reportedly from Afghanistan, was allowed to stay in the country after a priest confirmed he had converted to Christianity and was “wholly committed” to his new religion, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
His whereabouts and current information.
Abdul Ezedi, 35, from the Newcastle area, described by police as having “significant injuries to the right side of his face”, is still on the run, having last been seen at a supermarket in north London on Wednesday evening.
The Metropolitan Police have released an image of Ezedi, who was last seen in a Tesco Shop on Caledonian Road, north London, at 8.48pm on Wednesday.
The sighting came just over an hour after an attack on a 31-year-old woman, believed to be known to Ezedi, who was with her daughters, aged three and eight. All three remain in hospital.
There has been comments from Yaya, the owner of Sultan Supermarket in Byker, Newcastle, who has told Danny Savage, BBC correspondent, that he last saw Ezedi in the shop on Tuesday.
According to Yaya, Ezedi was wearing the same clothes that day as the one in the CCTV picture released by police after the attack.
“I was shocked. He was working hard. In the two years I knew him he never drank.”
CCTV in Yaya’s shop is deleted after 48 hours, so there are no images from Tuesday.
Yaya believes Ezedi is still in London because he would have been noticed on public transport with his injuries reports BBC.
There’s more CCTV footage that has come out as courtesy of Sky Tv where the attack carried out is shown.
There was a heightened police presence in the area on Thursday, including unmarked cars with blue sirens and police vans.
Details of the incident.
A manhunt is under way for the “dangerous” suspect after the attack in Lessar Avenue, near Clapham Common, at about 7.25pm on Wednesday.
He also allegedly threw the younger child to the ground.
In his attempt to drive away from the scene, the attacker crashed into a stationary vehicle and made off on foot.
Ezedi is believed to have used a corrosive alkaline substance but it is not known if it was a household product that was used.
Products such as bleach and oven cleaner are alkaline substances.
Three members of the public who came to the aid of the family, two in their 30s and one in her 50s, have all been discharged from hospital with minor burns.
The force said five officers who responded to the incident were also treated and have now left hospital.
One witness to the attack, bus driver Shannon Christi, told PA news that she was affected by the substance while trying to help the woman and two children outside her home.