A small boat migrant who threatened to kill Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been jailed for five years after making the chilling threat in a TikTok video.
Fayaz Khan made the threat between 12 October and 15 October last year in a post on the social media platform that featured him making gun gestures and pointing to an AK-47 tattoo on his face.
Sentencing judge at Southwark Crown Court Mrs Justice Steyn told the 26-year-old Afghan national she agreed with Farage that his threats to kill the politician were pretty chilling.
The court heard Khan had livestreamed his Channel crossing and amassed hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok under the username madapasa before making the death threat.
Outburst From the Dock
After the five-year sentence was read out on Tuesday, Khan shouted from the dock that Farage wanted to use him because he wants to be Prime Minister.
As he was taken down to the cells following the conclusion of the hearing, Khan continued his tirade, shouting at the Reform UK leader.
He yelled that Farage wanted to use him to become Prime Minister, adding that he was not in court because he wanted to kill the politician.
Khan demanded to be sent back to Afghanistan, claiming his family remained there, and accused Farage of wanting to destroy his life by putting him in prison.
False Identity and Criminal Record
Prosecutor Peter Ratliff told the court that Swedish authorities believe Khan’s real name is actually Fayaz Husseini and that he is 31 years old, not 26 as he claimed to British authorities.
Khan claimed he gave a different name because he has enemies he did not want to find him, the court was told.
However, Ratliff said prosecutors believe it is more likely he has given a false name because of his criminal record in Sweden.
The court heard that Swedish authorities have linked him to 17 convictions for 12 separate incidents, which include carrying a knife in a public place and using threatening behaviour towards a public servant.
In June 2019, Khan was convicted of using threatening behaviour towards a public servant, for which he was imprisoned in Sweden.
He was also convicted of carrying a knife in April 2020 and was jailed for three months in October of the same year for using threatening behaviour.
Khan was additionally convicted of vandalism which resulted in a two-month prison sentence in March 2023, whilst multiple low-level drug offences were also on his record.
Channel Crossing and Threat
The court heard Khan was one of 65 migrants aboard a black rigid inflatable boat that had entered UK waters whilst crossing the Channel from France.
The defendant livestreamed the recording of his crossing which appears to have gathered a large online viewing, prosecutor Ratliff explained to the court.
Khan had made 10 attempts to reach Britain before finally arriving on a small boat on 31 October, just weeks after making the threat against Farage.
On 12 October last year, Farage had uploaded a video to YouTube entitled the journey of an illegal migrant, which showed Khan and referenced young males of fighting age coming into our country about whom we know very little.
Pop, Pop, Pop Threat
Khan responded with a TikTok video on 14 October, which was played to the jury during his trial, in which he appeared to say: “Englishman Nigel, don’t talk shit about me.”
He continued: “You not know me. I come to England because I want to marry with your sister. You not know me. Don’t talk about me more. Delete the video. I’m coming to England. I’m going to pop, pop, pop.”
Prosecutor Ratliff told jurors that whilst Khan said pop, pop, pop he made gun gestures with his hand, as well as headbutting the camera during the video.
He was pointing to an AK-47 tattoo on his face to emphasise he wasn’t joking, the court was told.
Jurors were shown a screenshot of a subsequent TikTok post by Khan with the caption I mean what I say written on an image of a GB News report about the alleged threat against Farage.
Cannabis Defence Rejected
In his police interview following his arrest, Khan denied wanting to kill Farage and claimed that he had been smoking cannabis and was high at the time of filming the video.
However, a jury at Southwark Crown Court convicted him of making a threat to kill by a majority verdict of 10 to two after deliberating for 11 hours and 55 minutes.
Khan had declined to give evidence during his trial, with jurors instead hearing a reading from a transcript of his police interview from 1 November 2024.
His lawyer Charles Royle told the court: “I have instructions from Mr Khan to apologise to Mr Farage and to his sister for any offence and upset caused.
Genuinely Worried
Farage gave evidence during the trial that he was genuinely worried about Khan’s threat, describing the video as chilling.
The Reform UK leader told jurors: “Given his proximity to guns and love of guns, I was genuinely worried. He says he’s coming to England and he’s going to shoot me.”
Speaking outside court following the sentencing, Farage said it was a win that violent criminal Khan had been jailed for five years.
He added: “The only reason we know about this guy is because somebody sent it to me on TikTok.”
Farage attended the sentencing hearing with security guards and sat in front of reporters in the public gallery at Southwark Crown Court.
Additional Charges
Khan was also sentenced to eight months imprisonment, to run concurrently, for entering the UK illegally, having previously pleaded guilty to the offence.
Mrs Justice Steyn told Khan during sentencing: “Your video was not mere abuse, it was a threat to kill with a firearm and it was, as Mr Farage put it, pretty chilling.”
She added: “You saw the widespread dissemination of Mr Farage’s video as a hindrance to your attempts to come to the UK.”
Nicholas Coates of the Crown Prosecution Service said Khan not only entered the UK illegally but made sinister threats against a Member of Parliament.
Following his conviction, Farage has said he hopes Khan will be deported to Sweden, where according to court documents reported by The Times, he faces further charges.
Khan is due to appear at a court hearing on 3 December in Varmland, southwest Sweden, for allegedly filming a naked girl under the age of 18.
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