Hassan Abou Hayleh, 39, who assaulted 19-year-old woman, allegedly suffers from PTSD after being tortured.
19 February 2025
Jailing a “very dangerous” asylum seeker who sexually assaulted a teenager could breach his human rights, a court heard.
Hassan Abou Hayleh, 39, attacked the 19 year-old after driving around at 3am looking for vulnerable drunk women.
He was due to be sentenced on Monday at Bournemouth Crown Court, but the hearing was adjourned after his defence barrister argued that sending him to prison might breach his human rights.
Graham Gilbert claimed that Hayleh was suffering from PTSD, having been tortured in a Syrian jail under the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian president.
The lawyer said that jail would make the defendant’s condition worse.
He told Judge Robert Pawson: “The doctor’s report only came in on Saturday and it expressed concerns about Hayleh’s PTSD.
“He has several symptoms of PTSD which would be made worse by a custodial sentence. It would also be made worse without the support of his wife and friends.
“The court must work out whether a custodial sentence would breach Article 3 and be inhumane and degrading for him…”
Hayleh targeted his victim while she was sitting alone on the kerb waiting for her father to give her a lift home.
He molested her in the street and then tried to get her into his car before members of the public intervened.
Convicted in November
The Syrian immigrant was found guilty of sexual assault in a trial last November.
Following his conviction, Judge Pawson, told him: “On the evidence before me you are potentially a very dangerous man. I shudder to think what might have happened.”
After hearing Mr Gilbert’s argument, Judge Pawson erred on the side of caution and adjourned sentencing for further assessment of Hayleh.
He said: “A lot of prisoners’ mental health gets worse during a custodial sentence.
“However we are going to take the upmost care and caution due to Mr Hayleh’s PTSD due to his time suffering torture in a Syrian prison under the Assad regime.
“Placing him in prison would provide echoes of that experience.”
Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights prohibits torture, inhumane treatment and degrading punishment to a person.
It will be up to the judge to interpret and apply UK criminal law in a way that is compatible with the Human Rights Act 1998.
Hayleh, who required an Arabic interpreter in court, was released on conditional bail until his next appearance in April.
The Syrian arrived in the UK in 2020 and had been living in Weymouth, Dorset.
Vulnerable women
During the early hours of Dec 18 2022, he drove into the town centre looking for vulnerable women to target.
At 3.25am, he spotted his victim, who had left a nightclub and called her dad to pick her up. As she waited for him, she sat on the pavement alone.
CCTV captured Hayleh as he stopped his car and approached the young woman, before helping her up from the ground.
He then placed his hands down her trousers and inside her underwear before asking her to get inside his car.
The victim refused and instead shouted for help at three people who were walking nearby, telling them that Hayleh had touched her.
Her father, who arrived on the scene as Hayleh drove off, told the court he found his daughter with the three strangers, distraught and crying.
Hayleh told police that it was all a misunderstanding. He said that he saw the victim lying by the side of the road and stopped to help her.
He claimed that she hugged him and he noticed that her trousers were down, exposing part of her bottom, so he reached down and pulled them up.
Judge Pawson told him at a previous hearing: “You were driving around in the early hours on a Sunday morning hoping that you would find exactly what you did find – a young and vulnerable drunk woman who you wanted to get into your car so that you could sexually abuse her.”
‘Case for fundamental reform’
Chris Philp, shadow home secretary, said: “It is outrageous that ECHR considerations are potentially preventing a dangerous sexual predator from being jailed.
“No consideration seems to have been given to the danger he poses to women and girls and the need to protect them. The legal system should protect innocent people from dangerous attackers and not prioritise the supposed rights of illegal immigrants who, in this case, is also a dangerous sexual predator.
“With each one of these cases, which The Telegraph uncovers, the case for fundamental reform of these increasingly absurd human rights laws become stronger.”
Marco Longhi, a former Conservative MP, who has now joined Reform, said: “Judges must be held accountable for their decisions, especially when they prioritise offenders’ rights over the safety of the public.
“In cases like this, where a dangerous individual has been convicted of sexual assault, the rights of victims and potential future victims should take precedence.
“The idea that a convicted offender’s PTSD could exempt them from prison is deeply troubling and undermines justice.
“As long as the UK remains bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, judges will continue to apply subjective and left-leaning interpretations of this contested notion international law. Parliament is Sovereign and our laws should apply.
“Leaving the ECHR would ensure that British laws serve British people, rather than protecting criminals at the expense of victims.”
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary said: “This disgusting man is a danger to women and girls. He should be behind bars and deported, never to return. The right of the British public to live in safety obviously trumps this man’s mental health claims. This shouldn’t even be a debate and it’s disturbing a judge would even entertain it.”