Iranian rapist dodged deportation after faking a conversion to Christianity on Twitter

The Muslim man, 38, who illegally came to the UK twelve years ago was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after raping a 17-year-old girl in 2012.

But a judge has ruled that deporting him now following his release would be a breach of his human rights.

Upper Tribunal Judge Louis Kopieczek ruled that his 850 twitter posts quoting the Bible and Christian theology placed him at risk of persecution if he was sent back to Iran. But it was acknowledged in the Court of Appeal hearing that his religious conversion was part of a ploy to avoid deportation.

The judge said "In all the circumstances, I am satisfied that the appellant has established that there is a real risk that on his return he would be questioned about the details of his asylum claim.”

The ruling added that this could be a breach under the European Convention on Human Rights which prohibits torture and “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

It said that “questioning would reveal that he has posted on Twitter and interrogation would involve a real risk of ill-treatment amounting to a breach of article 3.”

The judge said it didn’t matter that his conversion to Christianity was not genuine because the Iranian authorities would still be able to read his pro-Christian tweets.

The Home Office is now trying to overturn the decision and a new court date has been set to rehear the case. A spokesperson said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”