Celebrity limo driver helped man enter UK on Hull ferry
WHISTLEBLOWER FLED IRAN OVER FEARS HE WOULD BE TORTURED
A CELEBRITY chauffeur helped a successful businessman illegally enter the UK on a ferry to Hull after he fled Iran over fears he would be tortured.
Azhin Hassan, 31, fled his hometown and his own family after he was wanted by the Iranian government for exposing a national company for fraud and sexual exploitation.
Shocking footage was shown to Hull Crown Court of two men dressed in army attire, with guns, entering Mr Hassan’s father’s home in Iran. He was taken away for two days as they questioned him over his son’s whereabouts.
The court heard Hassan was helped in his quest to come to the UK for safety by celebrity chauffeur Shad Mohammed, 27, and his friend, Melko Shoker, 44, from London.
The men were stopped at passport control in Hull.
The men provided him with a false passport in order to get a ferry from Rotterdam to Hull on October 29, last year.
Prosecuting, Simon Reevell said: “The vehicle they were travelling in was stopped at passport control in Hull.
“Mohammed said he had been in Amsterdam for a family wedding and was visiting Hull as he previously lived here. He said he was friends with Hassan and he would visit him often.
“Hassan was questioned by passport control and gave a home address of London. He said he was going to university in London. His passport was checked, which revealed his name did not match that on the document of a Ravar Mohammed.”
The three men were arrested in what Mr Reevell described as an operation planned with “some degree of sophistication”.
This was refuted by Glenn Gatland, defending Hassan, who said he had come to the UK because he was in “fear of his life” and after exposing corruption at the company he worked for, had lost everything.
Mr Gatland said: “He has a family, a car, a house and a very good job, but after obtaining a job as a computer web designer with Nokan he discovered there was a deal of corruption in relation to oil contracts and the exploitation of young females.
“He felt so disgusted he raised it with a member of Parliament in Iran and the police then started searching for him. They raided his home and actively sort out this defendant.
“This is a highly unusual case, he is not an economic migrant, his life is generally under threat.”
The court heard Shoker and Mohammed got no financial gain by helping Hassan, but feared for his safety and wanted to help him. None of the men had ever been before a court before.
Hassan, who now lives in Gateshead, pleaded guilty to the possession of false identity documents with improper intention and obtaining to enter the UK by deception.
Mohammed, of Medway Parade, London, and Shoker, of Romney Place, Maidstone, pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful immigration.
Recorder Allison Hunter refrained from sending all three men to prison due to their “compelling and impressive” mitigation.
They were sentenced to 15 months in prison, which was suspended for two years. They must also complete 250 hours of unpaid work.
“This is a highly unusual case, he is not an economic migrant, his life is generally under threat Glenn Gatland, defending Hassan