As two men charged with raping girl in Nuneaton, what details can police reveal?

Yahoo

11 hours ago

The Nuneaton case has prompted a backlash as Reform council leader accuses police of cover-up over asylum status of suspects.
Two men have been charged with the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton.
Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was arrested on July 26 and charged the next day with rape, according to Warwickshire Police. He appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court on Monday and has been remanded in custody.
Mohammad Kabir, 23, was arrested in Nuneaton on Thursday and charged with kidnap, strangulation and aiding and abetting rape of a girl under 13, the force added.
Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch, a member of Reform UK, claimed that the two men were asylum seekers from Afghanistan; however, this has not been verified.
Police have not commented on whether the two men are asylum seekers.
'Once someone is charged with an offence, we follow national guidance. This guidance does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status,' they said in a statement.
What are police required to share about suspects and when?
Police do not name suspects on arrest, unless under exceptional circumstances (largely to avoid unfair damage to their reputation if they are released without charge).
However, on charge it is common practice to name a suspect unless there are reporting restrictions (eg a suspect is under the age of 18) or there is a policing reason not to do so.
Along with people's names, police tend to release details including: the suspect's name, age, address, what they have been charged with and when the date of their court appearance.
On some occasions, the occupation of the suspect may also be released if it is relevant to the crime that has been committed (for example, a doctor accused of assaulting patients).
Why are there accusations of a cover-up?
Accusations of a cover-up emerged after Reform councillor George Finch claimed that Mulakhil and Kabir were Afghan asylum seekers. The claim was also reported in the Mail on Sunday.
Police have not commented on the immigration status of the suspects.
In a letter posted to social media on Sunday (3 August), and addressed to home secretary Yvette Cooper as well as Warwickshire Police chief constable Alex Franklin-Smith, and Warwickshire council chief executive Monica Fogarty, Finch said: "Residents of Warwickshire can see that they have not been told the full story".
"I am disgusted one year on from the social unrest that we saw in parts of the UK in 2024, the Home Office and the police have clearly not learned any lessons from the handling of similar incidents last year," he said.
"I strongly believe that the only risk to public order from this case in Warwickshire comes from the cover-up itself."
He added that there was "appetite" locally for protests to take place outside migrant hotels and houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) in the county, but said he did not want to see such action take place. He did, however, demand the home office remove all HMOs in Warwickshire.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Reform leader Nigel Farage claimed it was "a cover-up that in many ways is reminiscent of what happened after the Southport killings last year".
In Southport, riots broke out following the murders of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class after it was falsely claimed that the perpetrator was an asylum seeker who had come to the UK on a small boat.
Far-right groups had at the time accused the police of failing to share adequate information about the suspect (who was under 18 at the time of the attack), while the force was later accused of failing to recognise the threat of disorder from far-right groups.
What have police said?
The force acknowledged there had been "some questions" about it decided to release as part of such a "high-profile investigation".
However, it insisted it was following "national guidance" when someone is charged with an offence, which does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status.
It said: 'Where relevant, sensitive information around locations, details of the crime and policing activity to catch offenders can be shared, with a warning that this is sensitive or confidential information and disclosure by those being briefed could affect future court hearings.
'We work to hold offenders to account and will always do everything in our power to present a robust case to the courts and protect the integrity of court proceedings.
'Once someone is charged with an offence, we follow national guidance. This guidance does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status."