A migrant caught with vile child abuse videos on his phone gave a thumbs up outside court after being spared jail.
Yemeni Osamah Al-Haddad, 26, was let off the hook after claiming he might be forced to fight a war in his home country if sent back.
In footage filmed by a passerby, Al-Haddad can be seen denying any knowledge of the images’ source as he tries to rush away following the verdict.
He says: ‘I don’t know. I explained them (the court) everything (sic).’
The migrant had flown over from Cairo, Egypt, in January 2024 but was found with the three ‘grotesque’ videos at Heathrow Airport.
One of the recordings showed a man having sex with a goat.
Al-Haddad was spared prison after a judge ruled he could be forced to fight for the Houthis if sent back to Yemen.
Prosecutor James O’Connell said immigration officers uncovered the material during an asylum screening.
A migrant caught with vile child abuse videos on his phone gave a thumbs up outside court after a judge spared him jail
Yemeni Osamah Al-Haddad, 26, was let off the hook amid fears he might be forced to fight a war in his home country if returned
In footage filmed by a passerby Al-Haddad can be seen denying any knowledge of the source of the images
He explained: ‘The defendant was interviewed, and made no comment to questions he was asked.’
Al-Haddad originally came to the UK on a student visa, then ‘claimed asylum after insisting the Houthis were seeking out his father in Yemen’, John Hunter, defending said.
Mr Hunter added: ‘The Houthis also asked the defendant where he was because they wanted him to join their army. As a result of that, he then applied for asylum.
‘He is not able to return to Yemen, because of his fear of repercussions from refusing to fight.’
Mr Hunter said Al-Haddad’s asylum application was pending, but he is allowed to live and work in Plymouth, Devon, Isleworth Crown Court heard.
‘Although the defendant entered the country as an asylum seeker, he is now working in a restaurant.
‘He receives a monthly income of around £781 a month. He gives most to his wife and child back in Yemen, and he hopes to bring them to this country to live with him.’
Al-Haddad, of no fixed address, admitted three counts of making indecent photos of children, and one count of making a pseudo-photograph of a child.
He had claimed the images were sent to him by a friend on WhatsApp.
Al-Haddad was assisted by an Arabic interpreter as Judge Fiona Barrie told him: ‘You are 26 years of age, and you pleaded guilty to all offences.
Al-Haddad originally came to the UK on a student visa, then ‘claimed asylum after insisting the Houthis were seeking out his father in Yemen’
Mr Hunter said Al-Haddad’s asylum application was pending, but he is allowed to live and work in Plymouth, Devon, Isleworth Crown Court heard
‘The category A video involves an act of bestiality which is grotesque and is depraved.
‘You should do well to remember that this is a real child who has experienced this abuse, and those are significant aggravating factors.
‘You claim you have no sexual interest in children and received the images from a WhatsApp group.
‘But I share the concerns of the pre-sentence report which state that you are not entirely honest about that.
‘You have had those videos saved since August 2021, in your possession to view and certainly not deleted by you.’
Judge Barrie sentenced Al-Haddad to 30 weeks, suspended for a year.
Al-Haddad was also be made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, and 150 hours of unpaid work.
Last April, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had set out plans to ban foreign sex offenders from gaining asylum in the UK. Any offender would have to be sentenced to more than a year in prison.
