He Entered the UK Hidden in the Back of a Lorry, Then Did Something So Horrific to His Wife That Left Her Fighting for Her Life
Amir Khan, a 25-year-old man who entered the UK illegally by hiding in the back of a lorry, has been jailed after carrying out a horrific attack on his wife that has left her in a coma with little hope of recovery.
Khan, a Pakistani national, first came to the attention of immigration officials in 2017 after arriving in Britain illegally. His asylum application was later rejected, although he was granted temporary permission to remain in the UK on family and private life grounds until March this year. This week, he was taken to and from Birmingham Crown Court in a prison van before being sentenced for one of the most shocking acts of domestic violence heard by the court.
The court heard that Khan repeatedly denied responsibility for the attack and refused to tell jurors what really happened on November 1 last year inside the family home on Villa Road in Lozells. He was found guilty of attempting to murder his wife, 25-year-old Madia Bano, who is the mother of their four young children.
Prosecutors said Khan stabbed his wife in the head with a screwdriver or a similar pointed object, causing devastating injuries that permanently damaged her brain. Since the attack, Ms Bano has remained in a coma and has been diagnosed with Locked-in Plus Syndrome. She is unable to communicate or respond, and doctors say her condition is so severe that she would not survive if the medical treatment keeping her alive were withdrawn.
The judge described her injuries as being “as close to death as can possibly be,” highlighting the devastating impact the attack has had on both Ms Bano and her family. The court heard that if life-sustaining medical treatment were ever removed and she died from her injuries, Khan could face a future murder investigation.
Despite overwhelming evidence, Khan never admitted what he had done. He chose not to give evidence during his trial and repeatedly changed his account of how he claimed to have found his wife after the attack. Judge Dean Kershaw criticised him for refusing to accept responsibility and for providing what he described as dishonest and false accounts throughout the investigation and sentencing process.
Addressing Khan in court, Judge Kershaw said that instead of admitting his actions and giving an explanation that might one day help Ms Bano’s family or even his own children understand what had happened, he remained silent and continued to lie. The judge said anyone responsible for causing such catastrophic harm should not be released from prison unless decision-makers were completely satisfied that they no longer posed a danger to the public.
Khan was sentenced to 30 years in prison and will also remain on an extended six-year licence after his release. The lengthy sentence reflected both the extreme seriousness of the attack and the continuing risk he poses, with the judge making clear that his refusal to accept responsibility would be an important factor when any future decisions about his release are considered.
