Four Kirklees men accused of helping man flee UK before conviction for serious sexual offending
Four men from Kirklees have been accused of helping another man flee the UK before a conviction for serious sexual offending.
The charges relate to their alleged assistance to 56-year-old Asif Ali from Batley, who failed to appear at court in December 2023 when on trial for non-recent sexual offences.
Ali was found guilty in his absence, and in April 2024, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for offending including 14 counts of rape. Multiple enquiries remain ongoing to locate him.
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Four men - 55-year-old Ahsan Ul-Haq, 24-year-old Daniyal Hussain, 25-year-old Mohammed Assad and 26-year-old Junaid Khan - have now been charged with perverting the course of justice.
All of the men are charged with one count of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice between November 26, 2023 and February 17, 2024.
Hussain and Khan are also charged with one count of failing to comply with a section 49 notice to disclose the key to protected information.
Ul-Haq and Hussain will appear before Kirklees Magistrates Court on March 4. Asad and Khan will appear before the same court on March 18.