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Asylum Seeker Jailed After Forcing Himself on Woman in Horrific Street Assault

Published on July 22, 2025

A Kuwaiti asylum seeker has been jailed after attacking a vulnerable woman in the street, grabbing her and forcing a kiss on her after she refused to follow him back to his hotel.

Zayed Alanzi, 26, targeted the woman near the Royal Hotel in Hull in the early hours of 28 April, where he was staying at the time. The court heard how he approached her uninvited and wouldn’t take no for an answer, even after she clearly told him to leave her alone.

The woman, who had been trying to help protect a vulnerable teenage girl by stepping in as a decoy, was left feeling shaken and violated. She told magistrates that Alanzi, a complete stranger, grabbed her face, squeezed her cheeks and kissed her on the mouth, forcing his tongue inside. She eventually managed to push him off, reported the Express.

“It was either that or he would do it to the other one,” she said in her testimony, explaining why she intervened. “He asked me to go up a road. I said ‘No. I’m going that way’, and that’s when the police turned up.”

Alanzi, who is married, denied the charge and told the court through an Arabic interpreter that he had only been trying to help the woman stand up. He also claimed she had consented to the kiss. But magistrates weren’t convinced and rejected his version of events.

He was sentenced to 12 months in prison and has been placed on the sex offenders register. He was also ordered to pay £187 in costs. However, due to standard sentencing rules, he’s expected to serve less than half of that time behind bars.

There are now expectations that deportation proceedings may be initiated against him following the conviction.

The incident was first reported by The Sun, which revealed that the woman made it clear multiple times she wanted to be left alone and that the encounter had left her deeply disturbed. She was reportedly suicidal at the time, making the entire situation even more disturbing.

Alanzi had been staying at the Hull hotel while his asylum claim was being processed, something that has sparked broader concerns about the housing of asylum seekers in hotels located in busy city centres. The use of such accommodation has been under scrutiny for months, with many questioning how safe and appropriate these arrangements really are for both the public and the asylum seekers themselves.

While the legal process has now run its course, the victim’s emotional scars are likely to last far longer than any jail term. She stood up not just for herself, but for someone even more vulnerable — and in doing so, she prevented something potentially even worse from happening. Her bravery in the face of a terrifying ordeal has been widely praised.

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