On 15th January (Monday), a UK court ruled that the Tunisian asylum-seeker, who killed and nearly beheaded an Indian-origin student, will be indefinitely confined to a psychiatric hospital.
Notably, the 24-year-old man from Tunisia, Maher Maaroufe brutally killed Sabita Thanwani, an aspiring psychologist at her university accommodation. On 19th March 2022, she was fatally stabbed in the neck by Maaroufe at Arbour House student flats in the Clerkenwell area of London.
The family of the Indian-origin student described Maaroufe as an “evil predator” and a “monster”. According to Sabita’s family, she was brutally killed for rejecting Maaroufe’s advances. The judge, however, observed that she was in an abusive relationship with the Tunisian man.
While pronouncing sentencing in the case at the Old Bailey, Judge Nigel Lickley KC said, “Sabita had her whole life ahead of her. You ended her life. Your actions will continue to cause enduring pain and suffering.”
The Judge added that Maaroufe had been “aggressive” and “controlling” towards Sabita during their relationship and hit her at least once. He added that Maaroufe attacked her during the “height” of a psychotic episode.
According to the prosecution, during his psychotic episodes, Maaroufe, who sometimes smoked 10 pounds of cannabis a day, “thought she was the male devil“. He “almost beheaded her”, as per prosecutor Louis Mubly.
The family claims that the convict murdered her in cold blood and was influenced by religious extremism
The court was informed that the Tunisian man Maaroufe had illegally overstayed in the UK and had sought asylum when he carried out the murder.
Last year, on 30th June, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility, as well as to assaulting a police officer while appearing at the Old Bailey — the central criminal court of England and Wales.
Maaroufe, who had no fixed address, stated that he was suffering from schizoaffective disorder at the time of the crime. He also admitted guilt to assaulting an emergency worker.
On the night when the murder took place, Maaroufe had gone to a mosque. Thanwani met Maaroufe outside a mosque, donning a balaclava. The court was told that after they had returned to Sabita’s accommodation, other students heard her shouting “stop”, “I can’t breathe” and “I beg you, don’t kill me”.
On the student’s complaint, the Police intervened. However, Maaroufe left the room wearing a balaclava and passed the police which had arrived following the 999 call.
Nonetheless, the police found a book in Arabic on “how to expel demons” when they discovered Sabita’s body with a deep wound across her neck among 31 injuries inflicted by a razor blade. She succumbed to her injuries on the spot.
Police found Maaroufe asleep under a tarpaulin in a garden shed, the next day. He was hiding in women’s clothes. He had also stolen the victim’s phone and credit card. When the police tried to arrest him, he head-butted a police officer.
While delivering the sentencing, Judge Nigel Lickley said that the main driver of the killing was Maaroufe’s schizoaffective disorder. He said, “Without the illness you would not have killed Sabita.”
While the prosecution accepted his plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter, her family described Maaroufe as a “murderer”.
They said, “He is an evil, sadistic murderer, his actions were calculated to kill her because she rejected him.”
Following the court ruling, the family of Sabita Thanwani, in a statement, expressed disappointment stating that they have been let down by the judgement. The family asserted that it was a cold-blooded murder as the convict was influenced by religious extremism.
The statement read, “There is no doubt whatsoever in our minds that this was a premeditated, cold-blooded murder. The murderer was well known as a violent, jealous, controlling man, influenced by religious extremism. He brutally murdered our beloved, beautiful Sabita.”
The family further pointed out that the convict had a criminal history and the UK immigration department had to share the blame as he was living illegally in the UK.
The statement added, “It beggars belief that the murderer, who was illegal in the UK, was not only arrested by the police prior to the murder but he was imprisoned multiple times… If immigration was informed and did not take action, it is culpable. Had the immigration process followed through, as it should have, this man would not have been in the UK to commit the vicious and merciless murder of Sabita.”
Sabita’s parents, Manoj and Rheea, live in Dubai.
