Afghan migrant jailed for 2023 London assault dies in custody

A 25-year-old Afghan migrant Gulwali Stanekzay, who was in jail for assaulting a woman and leaving her seriously injured on the road in 2023, died on January 17, at the age of 25.

Stanekzay was serving a three-year sentence for his unprovoked attack on a 23-year-old woman Aisha Waris, while she was heading home in Harlesden, north-west London.

The assault incident from February 2023 left Ms Waris with a bruised lip, a swollen nose, red marks and bruising to her chest, shoulders and face.

Stanekzay launched three separate unprovoked attacks on Ms Waris. He deliberately rode his bike into her before punching her for about a minute. He rode his bike away but returned and launched another assault.

Ms Aisha was forced to cover her face and run for safety towards a neighbour’s home but Stanekzay reached her and launched a third assault, ignoring Ms Aisha’s pleas to leave her alone.

Entering the neighbour’s house, Ms Aisha managed to call her father, Abdullah Khan, who drove to the scene and was attacked by the Stanekzay. Mr Khan suffered a black eye and broken tooth.

The court documents reveal that the Afghan refugee, who came to the UK unaccompanied as a 16-year-old in 2016, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and two counts of criminal damage.

He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, with an additional 24 weeks for breaching a suspended sentence related to a previous ABH case.