A grooming gang survivor whose rapist was released early from prison has said the 'fear is real' after Rochdale rape leader Shabir Ahmed walked free today. Elizabeth Harper's rapist Asghar Bostan was spotted near her house in Rotherham in 2024 after he was released early on parole. She is speaking out after the leader of the Rochdale grooming gang, Shabir Ahmed, was freed from HMP Leeds today.
Ahmed's release and conditions
Ahmed, 73, who wanted to be known as 'Daddy' to his victims, has served 14 years in jail for multiple rape and sexual offences against young girls. The terms of Ahmed's release are understood to be that he must initially live in secure accommodation and cannot enter an 'exclusion zone' centred on Rochdale. His victims say they are still living in fear after being told Ahmed cannot be deported due to a niche law.
Elizabeth said Ahmed's victims had a right to be scared after what had happened to her. Her rapist Asghar Bostan left prison in August 2022 after he was jailed for rape in 2018. Just like Ahmed's, Elizabeth says Bostan's licence conditions meant he could not return to Rotherham. However in January 2024, Bostan was spotted in the town by her friend less than a mile away from her home. Bostan was then arrested and recalled to a category B prison for breaching his parole conditions.
Victim's reaction
Elizabeth, who said she felt 'sick' at the time, said: 'The fear is real, and it does come true sometimes.' Asked about the release of Shabir Ahmed, Elizabeth told Metro: 'It just goes to show how the system really isn't working. We are talking about an individual who organised a gang. He was the top of the hierarchy. I just feel like again we are seeing the poor victims are at the bottom of the pile.'
Lawmakers have admitted that the Immigration Act 1971 meant he could not be deported to Pakistan, where he was born, even though he has already been stripped of British citizenship. Elizabeth said it was 'absolutely disgusting' that Ahmed could not be removed from the UK. The survivor said: 'These loopholes keep appearing every time it is about grooming gangs. The loopholes need to be closed.'
Political response
Andy Burnham has said that if he becomes prime minister 'nothing is off the table' to deport Ahmed. The Labour leader-in-waiting said he wanted to see the grooming gangs ringleader removed from the country, and would ask senior Government ministers to find a way to deport him. 'Like everyone, I want this vile criminal out of the country. Victims must come first,' he wrote on X. He added: 'I will ask the Home and Foreign Secretaries to review all possible options – and they should consider nothing is off the table.'
Other victims speak out
Other victims have shared their fears about Ahmed's release. One, identified only as 'Ruby', is being supported by The Maggie Oliver Foundation, set up by Ms Oliver, an ex-police detective turned whistleblower over grooming gangs. Ruby said: 'I'm scared for my safety and my kids' safety. The main ringleader is getting out of prison, who is well known in Rochdale, Oldham and Middleton, so even if he's not in that area, he still knows people and has a chance to talk to people from that area and that makes me unsafe.'
Ruby said victims of abuse had been given 'false promises' and left to 'fend for themselves' through a lack of support from the authorities, and called for a change in the law to get grooming gang members deported.
Local council reaction
Neil Emmott, the leader of Rochdale council, said he was very concerned about how the 'deeply troubling' news of Ahmed's release would affect the survivors still living in the Greater Manchester town. He said: 'I hope that the reports that he will not be allowed into our borough are accurate and that we never see him on our streets again. If he is seen in our borough, I will demand that he is sent back to prison immediately. As far as I'm concerned, they should have locked him up and thrown away the key.'
Background on Ahmed
Ahmed had worked as a taxi driver but was also employed by Oldham Council as a benefits rights worker and seconded to the Oldham Pakistani Community Centre. At his trial, Ahmed called the judge a 'racist bastard' and took his case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming he did not get a fair trial. He was jailed for 19 years in 2012 at Liverpool Crown Court, one of nine men in the Rochdale grooming gang trial convicted of offences against five girls. Police said the victims were from 'chaotic council estate backgrounds and as many as 50 girls could have been victims of the gang.
Judge Gerald Clifton said victims were treated 'as though they were worthless and beyond any respect' because they were not part of the gang's community or religion.
Home Office statement
A spokeswoman for the Home Office said on Tuesday: 'Our thoughts are first and foremost with the victims of these appalling crimes. On his release he will be on the sex offenders register for life, ordered to stay away from his victims and banned from contacting any child or young person. As well as facing strict curfews and restriction zones, his every movement will be tracked, forced to wear an electronic tag. Should he breach his conditions, he will be immediately locked up.'
