Why was Murderer released from Psychiatric Hospital?

An inquest is to be held into how a domestic abuser was released from a psychiatric hospital before killing his partner.

In 2017, Atual Mustafa murdered Sohbia Khan at her home in Pear Tree Crescent, Normanton.

Mustafa received a hospital order in 2009 for attacking, torturing and setting fire to another woman.

He was released from a secure psychiatric unit at the Cygnet Hospital, Derby, in 2016.

Mustafa is known to have had an affair with a member of staff while at the unit.

An inquest into how he was released from the hospital will begin on March 8, 2022, after a pre-inquest review was held on August 19, 2021.

In a hearing at Derby Coroner’s Court, assistant coroner Tanyka Rawden said that although Mustafa “does not want any involvement in this case”, she said there was a public interest in disclosing his medical records to relevant parties, including psychiatric reports.

She added: “I have to do everything I can to protect Mr Mustafa’s information.

“It is a balancing exercise between Mr Mustafa’s rights to keep these matters private and the public interest.”

In 2018, Miss Khan’s family said that “evil” Mustafa should have been imprisoned for his earlier offences and called on authorities to learn from the case.

Miss Khan’s brother Javad Khan had said in May 2018:

“We believe he was wrongly diagnosed. He should have been sent to prison for a very long time.

“He’s evil and dangerous. He played the authorities and faked his problems and that’s what the jury believed.

“What he did to his first victim is absolutely horrific. It’s beyond belief.

“And to think he was given a hospital order, released after a few years and then went on to murder my sister is sickening.

“He should have had a long prison sentence then he would not have been able to do what he did to Sohbia.

“He would still be in prison and my sister would be alive. The public would have been free from the serious risk he poses.

“When he was released and allowed back out again he played them once more. He faked his name, faked his background.

“He was not supposed to have any relationships but he found my sister and he murdered her.”

“I want serious lessons to be learnt from all of this.

“How was he given a hospital order, released and then allowed to form a relationship with Sohbia?

“He should have been found out but he wasn’t.

“He should have been found out at each stage but he wasn’t.”

When he met Miss Khan, Mustafa went by the name Asif in order to hide his past.

After being convicted of murder, he was sentenced to life in prison in 2018, to serve a minimum of 32 years.

During Mustafa’s trial, the court heard that he had beaten Miss Khan and had replaced her phone with one which had no internet connection.

A month earlier, she was lured to Derby to live with Mustafa, who failed to notify police of his new relationship as was required by the terms of his discharge from hospital.