Somali serial rapist sues NHS over how prescriptions are handed out in jail during Ramadan... and wins

A Somali serial rapist serving a life sentence has won a High Court battle over how medication was provided in prison during Ramadan - claiming he suffered religious discrimination.

Dahir Ibrahim, described by police as a 'predator' who 'preyed on vulnerable women', was first jailed for 10 years in 2006 for raping three Birmingham sex workers at knifepoint.

He was then handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 10 years in 2016 for raping two more women in the city in 2014, who he also threatened with weapons.

The 41-year-old took Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust to court claiming its policy of only dispensing opiate-based painkiller codeine at HMP Birmingham in the morning or afternoon during Ramadan – when Muslims fast in the daytime – breached his human rights.

Although some medication at the jail was dispensed in 'Ramadan packs', for consumption in cells between sunset and dawn, codeine was excluded because of its 'psychoactive effects which makes it highly sought-after'.

Ibrahim, who needed the medication for knee pain in May 2019, brought a case against the NHS Trust at Birmingham County Court in 2024 and won.

The trust appealed to the High Court in a case heard in May and July – but a judgement issued on September 29 found in Ibrahim's favour.

Gemma McKone, deputy head of healthcare for the NHS trust, argued providing routine codeine outside fasting hours would have been 'completely impractical' as tens of thousands of prescriptions are given under supervision each month.

Police mugshot of Dahir Ibrahim after he was arrested for the rapes of two women in 2014

But, dismissing the Trust's appeal, Mr Justice Soole said: 'At the time in question, the Trust and its employees had given no thought to the possibility of providing Mr Ibrahim with his prescribed medication by any alternative procedure.'

Ibrahim, who overturned a deportation order after his 2006 sentence, had a 'lack of understanding' about what is lawful in the UK after witnessing numerous atrocities in his home country, according to his defence in 2016.

The sex attacker, now at HMP Whatton, in Nottinghamshire, is set to be considered for release by a parole board in the coming months as his minimum jail term comes to an end - and may finally be deported.

The court heard that while at HMP Birmingham, Ibrahim would have to 'present himself each day at a medication hatch' open during fixed hours each morning and afternoon.

During Ramadan in 2019 from May 6 to June 4, Ibrahim refused to take the painkiller during the allotted times.

After going to the hatch around 5pm on May 6, Ibrahim was told by the nurse that codeine could not be taken away and that 'if he wished to take it he would have to do so there and then under her supervision'. He refused and left.

The events were repeated for two more days before Ibrahim made an appointment with the prison's GP.

On May 9, Ibrahim received paracetamol as a temporary alternative that he could take away from the hatch with him – but claimed he suffered withdrawal symptoms from not taking the codeine.

CCTV footage of Ibrahim running from the scene after he raped one of two women in 2014 

After being transferred to Whatton later that year, he brought his legal claim, accusing medical staff of breaching his rights to private life, freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination.

In the County Court judgement, Judge Mohammed Shakil Najib found the dispensing policy amounted to 'indirect' religious discrimination under Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

'The policy had no such impact on prisoners who had been prescribed medication which could only be taken under supervision but were not Muslim,' Judge Najib said.

But he dismissed the claims relating to private life and freedom of religion.

The trust's witnesses described the difficulties of dispensing routine medication during the prison's overnight lockdown.

A GP said two prison officers would be needed either to escort Ibrahim to a nurse or take a nurse to his cell, when staffing was limited.

But the High Court heard that 'special' arrangements already existed for some prisoners to receive medication outside normal hours.

Ibrahim himself received codeine at night when he temporarily returned to HMP Birmingham for the County Court case, partly heard during Ramadan in March 2024.

Ibrahim was an inmate at HMP Birmingham, pictured, when prescribed codeine in 2019 

Mr Justice Soole, who heard the appeal at Birmingham Civil Justice Centre, rejected the trust's warning that Judge Najib's ruling could lead to further claims, saying the 2024 decision was based on 'very particular facts and circumstances'.

It took three years to prosecute Ibrahim after his first rape in 2003 and, in the meantime, Birmingham City Council were granted an ASBO against him in 2005, barring him from streets in the Edgbaston red-light area.

When arrested, he refused to speak to female police officers and, when interviewed, called sex workers 'dirty women', adding that 'a woman's place was at home, not on the street'.

No compensation order was made but it is understood the case will be used to influence future prison healthcare decisions. 

The Parole Board said Ibrahim's case is under review but a hearing date has yet to be set.

A Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: 'We respect the Court's judgment, will learn from it and are considering how to apply its findings. We are committed to preventing any discrimination in our services at HMP Birmingham.'

The Home Office is to 'pursue Mr Ibrahim's deportation at the earliest opportunity following his release'.

A spokesperson added: 'Our thoughts are with the victims of these sickening crimes.

'Foreign national offenders are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity post-sentencing and will be barred from ever returning.

'Over 11,700 foreign criminals including murderers and rapists have been removed since the last election – a 41pc increase when compared to the previous 2-year period.'