NIGEL Farage said he was “deeply concerned” about the sentence handed to an illegal boat migrant who threatened to kill the Reform leader in a chilling video.
Fayaz Khan, 26, told Mr Farage he would “come to England” and “f***ing shoot you” in a string of incendiary TikTok posts.
Nigel Farage at at Southwark Crown Court, south London, for the sentencing of Fayaz Khan[/caption]
Speaking outside court, Mr Farage said it was a “win” that “violent criminal” Khan had been jailed.
But the Reform leader said he was “deeply deeply concerned” Khan would be “out in 18 months”.
He added: “This violent criminal… will be in this country, living in a house of multiple occupancy or a hotel, free to walk the streets whilst his asylum claim is judged.”
Khan will become eligible for parole when he serves 40 per cent of his sentence which is two years.
Afghan national Khan, known as MadaPasa online, was detained shortly after being picked up by the Border Force in the English Channel on October 31.
He was convicted of making threats to kill Mr Farage by a jury last week.
The small dinghy thug – who has AK-47 assault rifles tattooed on his face and arm – let out a shocking outburst after being sentenced today.
He screamed at Farage, who was sitting in the public gallery: “You want to f**k my life because you want to be prime minister. He is lying.
“I want to go back to Afghanistan. I am not guilty. I am not here because I want to kill him.
“I want to see my family. You’re doing this to f**k my life.”
Khan, who had millions of views online, had posted the threats against “Englishman Nigel” in response to a YouTube video by Mr Farage about illegal migration.
It had included MadaPasa’s clips on his journey to Calais, where he stayed before coming to Britain and making an asylum claim last October.
On October 14 last year – 17 days before he entered the UK following 10 failed tries – he told the Clacton MP: “You do not know me.
“I come to England. I want to marry your sister.
“I’m going to come to England. I’m going to ‘pop, pop, pop’.”
Father-of-one Khan then pointed at the gun tattoo on his cheek before headbutting his phone’s camera.
Prosecutor Peter Ratliff said the reference to Mr Farage’s sister was a sexual threat.
He told Southwark crown court: “This was very far from an off-the-cuff, instinctive reaction.
“This was something that involved significant planning.”
He went on: “Mr Farage’s YouTube video was explicitly in his capacity as the leader of the Reform political party.
“That was obvious to the defendant, who is clearly social media savvy. He obviously had a direct interest in who Nigel Farage was.”
Charles Royle, mitigating, apologised on his client’s behalf but said MadaPasa was a character and not a real-life gangster.
He told the court: “I have instructions from Mr Khan to apologise to Mr Farage and to apologise to his sister for any offence that has been caused.”
Mr Farage, sitting in the public gallery, nodded in court as the apology was read out.
Mr Royle said Khan, said to have become “depressed” while on remand in prison, was attempting to earn a living from social media.
He said: “Mr Khan says he is not glorifying his trip but highlighting the risks in the jungle and elsewhere.
“He always had in mind that he wanted to make a living as an entertainer.
“The truism of ‘all publicity is good publicity’ was in his mind, but clearly wrong.”
‘CHILLING’ THREATS
The lawyer admitted the Afghan was “unwise” to go after a sitting MP.
During the trial, Mr Farage said the threats were “chilling” and left him fearful for his safety.
The MP told the court: “What he says is that he’s coming to England and he’s going to shoot me. I understood very clearly as did many other people.”
Khan had previously lived in Stockholm, Sweden, since 2015, where he racked up 17 convictions for drugs, dishonesty and knife offences.
He left Scandinavia and travelled through multiple safe countries while avoiding a six-month jail sentence for possession of a bladed weapon.
Khan has since made an asylum claim in the UK and says he is at risk from the Taliban in Afghanistan.
He also told cops that he did not know coming to the UK on a small boat was illegal.
The migrant gave British authorities a fake name because he “had enemies” in Europe.
The court heard this morning that he is actually called Fayaz Husseini and is likely at least 31 years old.
‘EXCEPTIONALLY SERIOUS CRIME’
Mrs Justice Steyn, sentencing, branded the gun-inked thug a “pseudo-gangster” as she jailed him for five years.
But she ruled he did not meet the legal definition of a “dangerous” offender, which could have raised the sentence further.
Khan was also hit with an eight-month concurrent sentence for attempting to illegally enter the UK.
Mrs Justice Steyn said: “Using your own social media posts, Mr Farage highlighted you as someone who did not have a legitimate claim to be in the UK.
“Mr Farage is a public figure. He understands that with the role comes scrutiny, criticism, and sadly, at times, abuse.
“Your video… was a threat to kill. Mr Farage rightly understood that you were threatening to shoot him.
“Given the violent and aggressive nature of your threat, your serious intent to come to the UK, and your access to firearms, Mr Farage was rightly concerned for the safety of himself and his family.”
The judge ruled the death threat had “significant planning” and was not made “in the heat of an argument”.
She continued: “Being a Member of Parliament is a vitally important public duty. It is critical to a thriving and vibrant democracy that the public have access to MPs.
“It is vital that politicians are not deterred by threats. MPs are particularly vulnerable to threats. Several MPs have been the subject of attacks and threats in recent years, and two MPs have been murdered.
“When anyone makes a threat to kill an MP, it is an exceptionally serious crime.
“Your offending necessitates a substantial sentence of imprisonment.”
