UK Defence Ministry compensates Cambridge victims of Libyan soldiers’ sexual assaults

The British Ministry of Defence has paid compensation to people sexually abused by Libyan soldiers in Cambridge back in 2014.

Over 300 Libyan cadets had been brought to the UK in 2014 for training at Bassingbourn barracks, Cambridgeshire as part of the British government’s offer to put 2,000 Libyan soldiers through basic training to help stabilise their country after the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

“Two of the cadets raped a man and, on the same night, three other cadets sexually assaulted four teenage girls.” The BBC reported.

Lawyers for the male victim and one of the teenagers confirmed the MoD had agreed to pay them damages, believed to be tens of thousands of pounds.

The sexual assaults in Cambridge brought the agreement – which cost the UK £13.9m – to a premature end and the cadets based at Bassingbourn were sent home.

The first victim was raped at night on Christ’s Pieces in Cambridge city centre by Moktar Ali Saad Mahmoud, 33, and Ibrahim Abugtila, 23, the BBC added.

The defendants had denied attacking the man but were seen on CCTV leading him to the park. The pair were convicted by a jury and sentenced to 12 years in jail.

On the same night Khaled El Azibi, 19, Ibrahim Naji El Maarfi, 21, and 28-year-old Mohammed Abdalsalam fled the barracks and carried out sex attacks on three women.

El Azibi was sentenced to 12 months and El Maarfi and Abdalsalam each to 10 months.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “Compensation payments have been made to two people treated appallingly by several Libyan cadets being trained in the UK.