‘ Pick- up’ artist walks free
A‘ PICK- UP’ artist serving time for posting secret footage of him pestering women on l i ne h a s succeeded in a legal bid to have his convictions quashed.
Adnan Ahmed – who calls himself Addy A Game – was given a two- year sentence following a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court last year.
The 39- year- old had secretly filmed himself approaching dozens of women in Glasgow and Eastern Europe.
He posted the footage onto his YouTube channel. Ahmed also included audio recorded during sex.
Sheriff Lindsay Wood also put Ahmed, of Maryhill, on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
However, lawyers acting for Ahmed believed he fell victim to a miscarriage of justice.
They told the Court of Criminal Appeal earlier this year that Sheriff Wood conducted an inappropriate ‘ cross examination’ of Ahmed when he finished giving evidence.
Defence advocate Claire Mitchell QC said the questions asked by Sheriff Wood to Ahmed ‘ would have led the independent observer to reach the view that the sheriff had formed an adverse view of his credibility’.
She said Sheriff Wood’s conduct result in her client being denied a fair and impartial trial.
In a written judgement issued at the court yesterday, the judges agreed.
Lord Turnbull wrote: “The trial sheriff engaged in an exercise which could only be described as cross- examination.
“The informed and impartial observer would readily have concluded that the sheriff had formed an adverse view on the credibility of the appellant’s evidence.
“The result was a miscarriage of justice and the appeal against conviction on each charge must be upheld on this ground.”
Ahmed approached dozens of women in the Glasgow and Lanarkshire areas.
Another woman broke down in court as she described how Ahmed followed her through Glasgow city centre and grabbed her head as he tried to kiss her.
A social worker who compiled a background report on Ahmed prior to sentencing described his behaviour as Passing sentence, Sheriff Lindsay Wood said Ahmed had shown a lack of remorse.
He added: “You have acquired notoriety and an unenviable reputation, the public will be wise to such inappropriate behaviour by you and others like you.”
Ahmed’s legal team also told the appeal court that Sheriff Wood failed to properly explain the rules of corroboration to jurors in the case.
In his report to the appeal court,
Sheriff Wood said he believed there was enough evidence on these charges to be considered by the jurors.
However, the appeal court disagreed and said the evidence didn’t show that Ahmed was guilty of threatening behaviour.
Lord Turnbull wrote: “It does not seem to us that a polite conversational request or complement can be construed as threatening merely because it is uninvited or unwelcome.”
YouTube has since removed hundreds of videos and deactivated two channels run by Addy A- Game and another group called Street Attraction. In his videos, Ahmed could be seen approaching women in the street. He then posted clips online offering advice to other men.
Lord Turnbull added: “In the present case counsel was correct to object to the sheriff’s questioning when she did.
“The exercise which the sheriff was engaged in had already lacked any element of clarification and at the point when she rose to her feet the sheriff appeared to be in the process of arguing with the appellant.”
Now, Ahmed has been acquitted.