NEWS STORY : Sentences Increased for Ibrar Hussain, Imtiaz Ahmed and Fayaz Ahmed Following Solicitor General’s Intervention

STORY

Three men convicted of raping a vulnerable teenager in the 1990s have had their prison sentences significantly increased after the Solicitor General, Lucy Rigby KC MP, referred their cases to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. The victim, who moved to Keighley, Yorkshire, as a teenager in the early 1990s, was subjected to repeated sexual abuse by Ibrar Hussain (47), Imtiaz Ahmed (64) and Fayaz Ahmed (45). The court heard that the men exploited her vulnerability, supplying her with money, drugs, and alcohol in exchange for sex. Many of the assaults occurred in flats above the Ahmed family’s grocery shop. Initially, on 17 January 2025, Hussain was sentenced to six years and six months for two counts of rape; Imtiaz Ahmed received nine years for one count of rape; and Fayaz Ahmed was given seven years and six months for two counts of rape.

Following the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased their sentences on 13 May 2025: Hussain’s to 10 years, Imtiaz Ahmed’s to 11 years, and Fayaz Ahmed’s to 10 years. In a victim impact statement, the survivor described enduring flashbacks and ongoing trauma nearly 30 years after the abuse, stating it left her unable to trust people, including those meant to protect her. The Solicitor General commented, “This case involved the shocking and hideous abuse of a vulnerable teenager by these three sexual predators. I referred these sentences to the Court of Appeal because, in my view, they were unduly lenient. I very much welcome the Court of Appeal’s significant increases to these sentences.”