LONDON: An Indian national mosque imam from East London who raped and sexually assaulted women and girls as young as 12 after telling them he had supernatural powers (jinns) has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.

The Indian national, Abdul Halim Khan, abused his position as a respected faith leader to abuse seven women and girls from the Muslim community between 2005 and 2014, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

The 54-year-old, of Old Forde Road, east London, was an imam at a mosque who persuaded each of the victims into meeting him at isolated places including flats and quiet, hidden locations, to tell them he would heal them through jinns to bring happiness to their lives and to get them rid of the jinns, prosecutors said.

Khan would then rape or sexually abuse the victims under the premise he would be possessed or disguised as a jinn (supernatural spirit), the court heard.

The victims felt they had to keep these acts secret from family and friends for fear of doing them harm via “black magic”, prosecutors said.

Judge Leslie Cuthbert, sentencing, said: “Behind a public appearance of propriety and holiness you took monstrous advantage of women who trusted you, all for your own sexual satisfaction. You brazenly raped and sexually assaulted seven females – both children and young women. You behaved as if you were untouchable. You were confident that none of the victims, who came from the same community in which you were an imam, would overcome the potential shame and stigma they might sadly feel, or be exposed to, by reporting you.

“You were confident that if they did come forward it would be you and not they who would be believed.”

The judge said that Khan’s criminality “may rightly be called an unrestrained campaign of rape and abuse of women and girls”, adding: “It is the work of a serial rapist and child abuser but it is impossible for me to encapsulate succinctly the devastation you have caused.”

He added: “I am sure that you continue to represent a grave danger to girls and women who might be persuaded to be alone with you and that risk will persist for the foreseeable future especially given that certain members of the community continue to hold you in high esteem.”

Khan was convicted of 21 offences of rape and sexual assault.

One of Khan’s victims, who said she was a child when she was abused, tearfully told the court: “To me, Khan is not a human being, he is evil personified.”

She said fear was instilled in her through Khan’s “lies and manipulation”, saying that he hid “under the guise of a religious man”.

The woman said that Khan “stole the autonomy I should have had over my own body” and that she was “caged” into staying silent because of his threats about members of her family.

She added: “He is a danger to society and he will continue being a danger for as long as he lives.”

Another victim, who was also a child when the abuse took place, said in her statement read to the court that she was left “terrified, confused and powerless”.

She said Khan used his position of authority to “terrorise” her, adding that he “exploited” her faith and vulnerability.

Police first became aware of Khan’s offending in February 2018 when the youngest victim reported Khan to a teacher at her school, Scotland Yard said.

In his interviews, Khan repeatedly denied the allegations, stating it was a conspiracy and the victims had concocted a story for revenge, the force added.

The court heard that the defendant maintains his innocence.

He was found guilty in February of nine counts of rape; four counts of sexual assault; two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13; five counts of rape of a child under 13 and one count of assault by penetration.

Melissa Garner, specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Abdul Halim Khan abused his position as a trusted religious leader to prey on women and girls over many years, manipulating and controlling them for his own sexual gratification.

“He used their deeply held beliefs to instil fear and silence them, making them believe their families would be at risk if they ever spoke out.”

Detective Chief Inspector Jennie Ronan, whose team led the investigation, said: “Abdul Khan presented himself as a respectable man who could be trusted. However, this was far from the truth, and he instead preyed upon and took advantage of others.

“Today, I want to focus on the victim-survivors, who have shown remarkable bravery in reporting Khan and great strength throughout the trial.

“We hope that today’s outcome provides a measure of comfort as they continue to rebuild their lives and serves as a reminder to anyone who has experienced sexual violence that support is available.

“We remain absolutely committed to tackling violence against women and girls, targeting dangerous offenders and removing them from London’s streets.”

Accompanying President Donald Trump on his first visit to China, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to Beijing after a diplomatic workaround involving a change in the Chinese transliteration of his name, despite existing sanctions imposed by Beijing.

Rubio, who had previously been sanctioned twice by China during his tenure as a US senator for his outspoken criticism of human rights issues, was barred under his earlier transliterated name.

In order to enable his entry without formally lifting the sanctions, the Chinese authorities began transliterating the first syllable of his surname with a different Chinese character for “lu.”

The linguistic adjustment is seen as a pragmatic diplomatic workaround, allowing China to maintain its sanctions while still engaging with Rubio in his new role as the US Secretary of State.

Prior to this visit, China said on Tuesday it would not block Rubio, now 54 and visiting China for the first time, from entering on Air Force One with Trump, the first US president to visit the Asian power in nearly a decade.

“The sanctions target Mr Rubio’s words and deeds when he served as a US senator concerning China,” Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said.

Two diplomats said they believed the change was an immediate way for China to avoid implementing its sanctions, as Rubio was banned from entering under the old spelling of his name.

A State Department official had confirmed only that Rubio was travelling with Trump.

After becoming state secretary, Rubio, an outspoken critic of communism, has supported Trump, who describes his counterpart Xi Jinping as a friend and has focused on building a trade relationship with China.

— Additional input from AFP

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has detained at least three journalists on unspecified charges, the United Nations mission there said on Thursday in a statement that called for the protection of reporters.

The three were the head of the Kabul-based Paigard News Agency, and two staff from Afghanistan’s first 24-hour news channel, TOLOnews, media and rights groups said.

The UN mission Unama said it urged “the authorities to uphold their obligations under international human rights law and ensure that journalists can do their work without fear of intimidation, harassment, or reprisal”.

More than 40% of Afghanistan’s media outlets closed within three months of the Taliban returning to power in August 2021, according to Reporters Without Borders, and women have been barred from most journalism roles.

Afghanistan ranks among the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, said the campaign group.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture confirmed the detention of the two TOLOnews journalists, saying their cases were under investigation, without specifying charges.

TOLOnews named them as Imran Danish and Mansoor Niazi and said security officials had said there would be more information on the cases against them when legal procedures had been completed.

Paigard News Agency‘s Ahmad Jawed Niazi was arrested late on Thursday last week at his office in Kabul by Taliban intelligence forces, the Afghanistan Media Support Organisation said in a statement issued on the agency’s behalf.