Two teenage refugees from Afghanistan are in custody after being accused of gang raping a young woman in York, England. One of the two men involved was previously promoted as an integration “success story” by his community’s council and a star player in the local cricket club.
Zaid Zahir, 20, and Fahim Khan, 18, appeared in court on Friday, each charged with one count of rape. The two were arrested after they reportedly participated in the gang rape of a young woman on August 27 between 3:30 and 4AM on the streets of York.
Despite being enrolled at York College, neither Zahir nor Khan spoke good enough English to be able to confirm their names and addresses without the aid of a court interpreter.
Disturbingly, Khan had previously been praised by his community’s council and press as a “success story” for refugees.
In January this year, Khan received publicity for joining the local cricket club in the small Yorkshire village of Cawood along with another refugee named Ajjaz.
“Two years ago, Fahim and Ajjaz were playing cricket for hours every day in the dusty backstreets and mountains of Afghanistan, fashioning a bat out of a tree branch and using a ball made from rolled-up socks,” a description for a YouTube video posted by Cawood Cricket Club says.
“Never did the talented duo ever imagine playing their much-loved sport overseas and making a name for themselves in the North Yorkshire cricketing community.”
In the video, Khan thanks Cawood residents for helping him feel welcome.
“The village is really friendly. We very [sic] like playing cricket for the village,” Khan says. In a since-deleted article posted by North Yorkshire Council, Khan was described as not only a “star player” of the club, but a “great ambassador” for York College where he attended classes.
Both Khan and Ajjaz were housed by Jenny Scanlon, a foster parent and private tutor. In a statement to the York Press in January, Scanlon said that Khan had “battled with grief and depression” and had a “lot of trauma” but had been “flourishing and developing” since coming to the UK.
“There has been a lot of trauma and upset, not to mention the culture shock. When they arrived, they spoke hardly any English and each and every day has been a steep learning curve including mastering using a microwave and tumble dryer,” Scanlon added.
“I’m so proud and delighted with the progress that they’ve made so far. It’s not been easy because of the language barrier, but it’s been a mutually enriching experience and it has opened my eyes to things I’ve never contemplated before,” she told North Yorkshire Council.
Khan also received boundless praise from York College, where one of the instructors said that he “enjoys collecting new vocabulary” and ironically had been “thinking about a future as a policeman.”
Migration Yorkshire, a local authority-led migration partnership working with national and local government, also promoted Khan’s story on X, but has since deleted the post.
Since news of the arrest broke, some on social media have noted that the left-wing Member of Parliament for the electoral district where the gang rape took place had attended an anti-racism protest in the center of the city just a few weeks prior.
Rachael Maskell, a member of the Labour Party, has also failed to address the incident on her official social media.
Zahir and Khan are due to appear in York Crown Court on September 23, and have been remanded in custody until then.
