'Only Six Months': Failed Asylum Seeker's Sentence After Nightclub Attack Elicits Backlash

A failed asylum seeker gets a six-month sentence for knocking a woman unconscious for rejecting his advances. Backlash was quick on social media, as the public believes that Abdeola Berhan, who is not a legal resident, should not be walking on British streets.

Berhan (sometimes spelled Burhan), 35, was caught on camera knocking Cleo Lake, 21, cold outside a nightclub with a single punch. According to reports, Berhan cornered Lake and her friends outside a club in Bournemouth, Dorset on 7 December 2024. Lake pushed Berhan for invading her personal space, and Berhan retaliated by punching her in the face.

Undocumented Resident With Three Convictions

The Eritrean national was convicted of assaulting Lake and was sentenced to six months in prison. The assault wasn't his only case. He was also found guilty of attacking a sandwich shop worker just a week before the nightclub incident. Another conviction arose for damaging a police cell.

The undocumented resident told the court he punched Lake in self-defence. 'It was not my intention to attack her,' Berhan said, but District Judge Orla Austin found the footage of the incident damning. 'There was very serious violence against a young woman who had simply rejected your advances,' the judge said during sentencing.

Lake's mother, Helen O'Brien, couldn't believe the sentence for the asylum seeker. 'Six months doesn't seem long enough. The impact of leaving Cleo in a crumpled, bloody mess in that alley has lasted more than six months for us.'

But six months is the maximum sentence for battery, according to UK laws.

Social Media Users Criticise Brevity of Sentence

Social media users were aghast at the brevity of the sentence. Social Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called for the deportation, not just of Berhan, but of all illegal immigrants.

'Abdoela Burhan is an Eritrean illegal immigrant/asylum seeker who was living in an asylum hotel,' tweeted MP Philp. 'He knocked a 20-year-old woman unconscious because she rejected his aggressive advances. He's been jailed for only 6 months. Another reason why illegal immigrants must all be deported.'

'What's more important is why our judiciary allowed to behave in this way?? 2-3 years for tweets and 6 months beating a woman unconscious,' said one user. Another stated: 'This horrific attack on this poor girl will stay with her forever and he gets 6 months. That is actually disgusting.'

Redditors, for their part, questioned why a failed asylum seeker like Berhan was still walking freely. With three convictions, they argued, Berhan's deportation should already be strongly justified.

Deportation for Abdeola Berhan?

'Hang on, "failed asylum seeker," so his claim for asylum was denied? How was he then permitted to leave his accommodation and freely walk the streets?' one Redditor asked. Another added, 'They get asylum denied, then they are allowed to leave court. They don't leave, of course... And then the Border Force say, "Oh, we don't know where they live now so we can't deport them."'

Failed asylum seekers are allowed to stay in the UK and can receive a 'provision of accommodation' if they are destitute. Berhan's last known address was the Britannia migrant hotel, funded by taxpayers.

A Home Office spokesperson said of Berhan: 'Where a foreign national poses a threat to the UK, we will always seek to deport them.'