Dangerous stalker jailed for 20 years
COURT: A hate-filled asylum seeker “stalked” police, a district judge and a female solicitor as he amassed a potentially lethal haul of explosive substances and weapons at his Yorkshire home.
Askhan Ebrahimi was yesterday handed an extended prison sentence of 20 years by a judge due to the danger he still poses to his intended targets.
A HATE-FILLED asylum seeker “stalked” police, a district judge and a female solicitor as he amassed a potentially lethal haul of explosive substances and weapons at his Yorkshire home.
Askhan Ebrahimi was yesterday handed an extended prison sentence of 20 years by a judge due to the danger he still poses to his intended targets.
The father-of-one was also made the subject of an indefinite restraining order with conditions including a ban on going within 25 metres of any police station in West Yorkshire or contacting any current member of staff at Bradford Crown Court.
The court heard how 33-yearold Ebrahimi, who is understood to have come to the country from Iran in 2009, turned his flat in Oak Lane, Halifax, into the “hub” of his hate campaign against those in authority whom he felt had wronged him.
Jurors were told that Ebrahimi, who represented himself during his trial, enrolled on a GCSE science course at Calderdale College a month before officers from the North East Counter Terrorism Unit searched his home.
Officers found a collection of weapons, chemicals and books on how to make a variety of bombs.
They also seized listening devices, scanning equipment, a bulletproof vest, a police badge, police Velcro labels, handcuffs and an extendable police baton.
The jury, who were unusually selected by number ballot rather than name, were told police had been involved in a domestic incident between Ebrahimi and his then partner back in 2014.
It eventually led to the imposition of a non-molestation order by a judge and the seizure of a previous collection of legally held weapons belonging to Ebrahimi.
Prosecutor Dafydd Enoch QC said the events in 2014 had “sowed the seeds” for Ebrahimi’s deep-seated hatred of the police and others in authority.
He told the jury that Ebrahimi’s hatred had taken over his life and his reason for living was to seek revenge.
Ebrahimi, who declined to give evidence in his own defence, was found guilty of three specific allegations of stalking and possession of explosive substances with intent to endanger life. He was also convicted of possessing a police extendable baton and a lock knife when arrested in 2015.
The defendant sat calmly in the dock as Judge David Hatton QC said he had become “obsessed with notions of vengeance”.
“Your intention, I have not the slightest doubt, was to assemble an incendiary or explosive device to use in your campaign against some police officers and other individuals who you perceived had wronged you including a solicitor, a social worker and a district judge of this court,” he said.
“The alarm and distress caused to those who gained knowledge of your activities, and whom you were seemingly targeting, will have been immeasurable.”
Judge Hatton said Ebrahimi had displayed signs of being paranoid and delusional, but he said he was also satisfied that the defendant was dangerous.
He said the danger was likely to persist for the foreseeable future and he was compelled to extend the 15-year term by five years.
Ebrahimi will have to serve at least 10 years before he is considered for release.
Detective Chief Inspector Warren Stevenson, of West Yorkshire Police, said yesterday: “I strongly believe that Ebrahimi would have eventually executed his plans in harming a police officer on the streets of West Yorkshire.
“We are pleased with the significant sentenced passed down which acknowledges the severity of the offence, and how dangerous an individual Ebrahimi is.”
The alarm and distress caused... will have been immeasurable.
Prosecutor Dafydd Enoch QC.