Kuwaiti migrant who raped woman he met in pub wanted for terror offences in Austria - concern after details of sex offence not initially released

A MIGRANT who raped a young woman he met in a pub in an historic market town is also wanted in connection with alleged terrorism offences, it has emerged.

Kuwaiti national Ayman Al-Shammari, 28, was found to be wanted in Austria in connection with the serious alleged offences after he was arrested on suspicion of raping the 26-year-old woman he met on a night out in Taunton last November.

He is also facing extradition proceedings at Westminster Magistrates' Court but the case has been put on trial to allow the rape trial to proceed.

Bristol Crown Court heard that Al-Shammari, who speaks only basic English and had an Arabic interpreter in court, had a very brief relationship with the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, before anally raping her during the second time they had sex.

Simon Burns prosecuting said: 'The defendant comes from Kuwait and speaks very little English. He has an Arabic interpreter to assist him at this trial.

'How did Ayman and (the victim) meet? It was only recently that they met prior to the date (of the offence). A couple or a few weeks at the most.

'She went to celebrate her birthday at a pub and met the defendant. They went to a nightclub, Labyrinth in Taunton.'

Mr Burns told the court that they had consensual sex on one occasion before the night of the offence in the early hours of November 15 2025 at her home in Taunton.

They had also been messaging via Snapchat using Google translate to allow the conversations due to the language barrier.

Mr Burns said: 'On the night of 14/15 November 2025 the defendant tried to persuade (her) to come out, but she was at home in pyjamas and did not want to come out.

'Instead he persuaded her to let him come round to see her. She agreed and he came round. They chatted, had drinks, some rum and cokes and he wanted to stay the night.

'That night they started to have sex - she went along with it - vaginal intercourse. However, she was getting more and more uncomfortable. She then describes that he kept trying to do anal, she told him to stop, he didn't, she told him she didn't like it, he wouldn't stop.

'She managed to unlock her phone on the bed and record part of what happened on her phone.'

The court heard two harrowing recordings taken by her camera phone.

In one just four second clip taken at 2:19am she was heard to say 'no', while a male voice said 'why' and she replied

'I don't want to'.

In the second clip recorded for over a minute at 2:20am, the victim was heard saying 'ow' multiple times before through sobbing she added, 'No, no, I don't like that'.

Mr Burns said: 'She was upset and crying. She was not consenting. She even tried to scratch him. The prosecution case is that he carried on regardless. He did not reasonably believe her to be consenting to anal sex. It all stopped quite abruptly. After he had finished he went to have a shower, asked if she was okay. She said no and he then left.'

Al-Shammari sent her a selfie on his way home and when he reached it later that morning.

He also sent the message in Arabic which was translated as 'this is how I am in sex. Do you like it or not?'

She did not reply to him and, instead, called the police via 101 at 3:55am.

Police arrived at her address at 4:58am and Al-Shammari was arrested on suspicion of rape on November 16 at about 7pm.

He said to officers 'I know (the victim)...she is my friend.'

During a police Interview he said they had sex and she wanted to try anal sex.

He said: "I tried once or twice but she was hurting and then I stopped."

The court heard that Al-Shammari, who has no previous convictions, cooperated with the police interview until the two recordings were played when, following advice from his solicitor, he gave mainly no comment answers.

The court heard he provided a pin for his mobile phone but it was incorrect, so they have been unable to open it for a full download, and he has not provided the correct one.

They were able to extract the small number of pictures and Snapchat logs without the pin.

The jury was played a police video recorded interview with the victim in which she insisted she made it clear to him she was in pain and wanted it to stop but he carried on.

Giving evidence behind a screen she said during the attack she was able to find her phone to make the two video recordings of her pleas to him.

Al-Shammari told the court she wanted him to try the sex act twice, but both times it hurt so he stopped.

He said they met in the smoking area of the pub and she hugged him and wanted to go to the nightclub with him which they did, returning to his home, but he claimed he left her there to see a friend and they did not have sex.

He said on the evening before the attack she welcomed him to her home and bedroom after drinking and dancing downstairs and they had sex.

He said: 'I have tried with her twice as this is what we had agreed. We tried twice... she told me to stop, it hurt and I stopped.'

He also said it was him that passed her the phone, after she asked for it, before she took the recordings from under the duvet, but he trusted her and was not sure what she was doing.

Al-Shammari said he remained at her home after the attack listening to music for an hour before leaving on good terms as she had to get up for work.

Asked if he raped her, he said: 'No. Impossible, impossible.'

He said: 'If she had not consented I would never do it to her. It is impossible to do that to her sexually. I could not even shout at her loudly.'

However, the jury today<30 Oct 2026> found him guilty of one count of rape by a majority verdict of ten to two.

Judge Euan Ambrose told him: 'I am sure you have been advised of the likely sentence that follows in a case such as this, so you should expect a prison sentence.'

He is also expected to be placed under a restraining order when he is sentenced next month.

A reporting restriction prevented the press from reporting on the trial, which began on Monday, until after today's verdict, and from revealing any details about his extradition case.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed that its extradition unit arrested Al-Shammari in connection with the alleged Austrian offending at the court after he was charged with the rape.

A NCA spokesperson said: 'The subject was arrested by officers from the NCA’s National Extradition Unit on April 23 this year at Westminster Magistrates Court following prison production. Extradition proceedings are ongoing.'

No details have yet been released in the extradition court about the nature of the alleged terrorism offence in Austria.

It is unclear when or how he entered the UK.

David McKelvey, a former Met Police DCI turned private investigator, said a migrant wanted for alleged terrorism charged with a rape in the UK raised major security concerns in connection with the migration crisis.

He said: When you add in the fact that the suspect is wanted for alleged terrorism in Europe it raises national security issues around the migration crisis and the Home Office should at least confirm how and when he entered the country.'

Al-Shammari, who was being held in Belmarsh Prison, due to fears he would abscond if released on bail, is also known to use the alias name Ayman Sabawi Aiman, according to the extradition case, which has been adjourned until next month.

During an earlier interim extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, the man insisted he was not involved in any terrorism and he told the court he was informed the case against him in Austria was being dropped.

However, it remains a live extradition case.

Concerns have also been raised that the rape case was shrouded in secrecy with no proactive release of the case by Avon and Somerset Police.

Details of the domestic rape charge only energed after enquiries were made with the CPS about the type of terrorism the man was alleged to be involved in in Austria.

The CPS said nothing had been detailed in open court about the alleged terrorism due to a domestic rape trial which would take priority.

Once approached the police force in question confirmed the defendant's nationality and when the rape trial was due to take place.

This was despite a pledge from the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) for more transparency around such cases in the wake of the misinformation that spread online following the horrific murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, on 29 July 2024.

Axel Rudakubana, then 17, stabbed the girls and injured ten other people after bursting into a Taylor Swift–themed yoga and dance workshop in Southport, Merseyside.

Next day rioters clashed with police and damaged a mosque in Southport after misinformation about Rudakubana, who was sentenced to

life imprisonment with a minimum term of 52 years in January 2025, being an asylum seeker was spread online, with unrest spreading nationwide over the next few days.

The Home Office, which has also said it may waive its long standing policy of not commenting on individual cases in certain serious cases involving migrant suspects for the same reasons, has refused to divulge any details about the suspect, including his immigration status or how and when he entered the country.

Mr McKelvey added: 'After Southport we were meant to get more transparency around this, so I would have expected the police force involved to have at the very least released basic details of a migrant being arrested and then charged in connection with an alleged rape.

'This is not the first example. There were other cases of stranger rapes by asylum seekers across the UK that police released no details about until they appeared in court.

"There does seem to be an ongoing cover up around this, even if it is just by local police forces trying to prevent public protests, but I think the Government - the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and Home Office - are behind it from top down, because we know that the MOJ is currently trying to prevent the release of official data on sex offences committed by nationality through court.'

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesperson said: 'The Corporate Communications team became aware of this case after the defendant's initial court appearance and remand into custody.

'At that stage, his name, as known at the time, and the charge were already available through the court process. There was no operational requirement at that time for a proactive appeal for witnesses or information.

'Decisions about proactive media releases are based on operational policing requirements, investigative needs, the impact on victims, and the broader public interest.

'We’re not able to proactively issue media releases in relation to every arrest or charge but will always answer media queries about cases which reporters have come across in court, as we did in response to your previous query about this case relating to the defendant’s nationality.'

A Home Office spokesperson said: "It is our long standing policy not to comment on individual cases."