Afghan rapists filmed themselves 'celebrating' escape to France after gang-raping Bristol teen they groomed on Snapchat
From the Newshound archive · first published 7 October 2026.
Salman Habibkheil, Awal Ahmadzai and Mehrab filmed in the back of a lorry as they fled to France after raping a Bristol teenager they had groomed on Snapchat.Mehrab Safi, Salman Habibkheil and Awal Ahmadzai, whose victim told Bristol Crown Court she is now a "different person" unable to leave the house alone, with her dream of working with children derailed by crippling…
Mehrab Safi, 21, Salman Habibkheil and Awal Ahmadzai, both 19, and an unnamed Afghan boy of 17 lured a 17-year-old Somerset girl to Bristol with a taxi paid for by Safi, plied her with alcohol until she was "broken beyond resistance" and raped her over several hours. Safi, Habibkheil and Ahmadzai then fled the UK in a refrigerated lorry, filming themselves celebrating their escape, before French police caught them in Calais and returned them to British custody. Bristol Crown Court sentenced the four to a combined 36 years after a jury convicted them of rape and human trafficking offences earlier this year.
Safi received 15 years for two counts of rape and human trafficking; Habibkheil and Ahmadzai each got nine years; the unnamed boy received three years.
Judge Michael Cullum told Safi the girl "would have looked vulnerable from the beginning" and said the accumulated trauma of being "raped five times" will "live with her forever."
The victim said in her impact statement she is now a "different person" who cannot leave the house alone — her dream of working with children put on hold by crippling anxiety.
