News story

London stalker has his sentence increased

Osman Basri has had his sentence increased at the Court of Appeal following intervention by the Solicitor General, Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP.

Royal Courts of Justice

A man who stalked and harassed a victim has had his sentence increased following intervention by the Solicitor General, Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP.

Osman Basri, 47, had previously breached a restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim. Over the years he continued to contact and bombarded the victim with messages. Basri was arrested and charged with stalking in October 2019. Despite being on bail he continued to contact the victim.

Basri attempted to bribe the victim, offering £5,000 to end the stalking case against him. In January 2020 he was arrested for stalking and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Basri was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment on 9 July 2020 at Wood Green Crown Court. Following a referral to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General, on 4 September the sentence was found to be unduly lenient and has been increased to 2 years’ imprisonment.

After the hearing the Solicitor General, Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP, said:

Basri’s obsessive harassment over the last decade has caused significant trauma to the victim. I am glad the Court of Appeal has increased his sentence today to reflect the severity of the harm he caused.

Published 4 September 2020