Catholic Church leaders in Newcastle have said they do not believe Ezedi converted to Catholicism before he was granted asylum.
His application to remain in the UK was approved by an immigration judge in 2021 or 2022 after he claimed that he had converted to Christianity and would be persecuted if he was returned to Afghanistan.
Sources told the Telegraph said they had “found no evidence” that Ezedi had used its churches to convert – although he had been given help by a Catholic charity in Newcastle in the form of food, clothes and toiletries.
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle said: “Our thoughts and prayers are first and foremost with the victims of this appalling attack in south London.
“We can confirm that Abdul Shakoor Ezedi visited our diocesan Justice and Peace Refugee Project, a charitable venture which assists a wide range of people who come to us in need.
“We are in the process of checking if this individual was received into the Catholic faith in any of our parishes, and have so far found nothing to support that. We are also investigating whether he was helped in other ways. The Diocese will assist the police investigations in any way we can.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/03/clapham-manhunt-latest-news-police-search-london/
