Socialite stalker, 53, once dubbed London’s most dangerous woman who made church warden’s life hell is on the run in Ireland as judge issues European Arrest Warrant to catch her
- Farah Damji, 53, was jailed in 2016 for stalking a church warden she met online
- Daughter of property tycoon convicted of breaching restraining order in 2018
- European Arrest Warrant issued by judge after Damji fled to Ireland and tweeted she would not ‘submit to the English and Welsh criminal justice system’
Farah Damji, 53, was jailed for five years in 2016 for stalking a church warden after meeting him on an online dating site
A convicted stalker once dubbed ‘London’s most dangerous woman’ is on the run in Ireland after she was jailed in her absence for breaching an order.
Farah Damji, 53, also known as Farah Dan, was jailed for five years in 2016 for stalking a church warden after meeting him on an online dating site.
Damji, daughter of multi-millionaire property tycoon Amir Damji, had made her victim’s life ‘complete hell’ after he spurned her sexual advances.
While languishing in her prison cell Damji raised £5,000 asking for donations on Twitter to hire a top QC to appeal the conviction in November 2016.
The socialite stalker also published ‘character assassinations’ online of individuals she was prohibited from referencing under the terms of her restraining order.
She then penned a letter to a government body accusing the investigating officer from the case of ‘stalking and harassing her’, Southwark Crown Court heard.
Damji had complained that PC Vincent Chan – one of many names she is forbidden from mentioning – had ‘scared’ her elderly mother by contacting her without permission in a message sent to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements.
While in her prison cell Damji launched an online campaign to ‘besmirch the character’ of an officer she was forbidden from mentioning under the terms of her restraining order. Damji, who ran an art gallery in Manhattan in the 1990s, was convicted in February of two counts of breaching the restraining order in April 2018 and June 2018. But she had absconded during the trial and she was jailed for 27 months in March. Judge Gledhill said a European Arrest Warrant has since been issued to extradite Damji after it transpired she had fled to Ireland
Damji, who ran an art gallery in Manhattan in the 1990s, was convicted in February of two counts of breaching the restraining order in April and June 2018.
But she had absconded during the trial and she was jailed for 27 months in March after Judge Michael Gledhill said: ‘She has made herself absolutely scarce so that the police cannot find her.
‘In my view this defendant is extremely manipulative.
‘She has done her best to disrupt the smooth running of these proceedings from the moment she arrived at this court.
‘She is playing the system and she continues to play the system, in my view.’
A European Arrest Warrant has since been issued to extradite Damji after it emerged she had fled to Ireland.
She recently fired off a series of tweets making clear she would no longer ‘submit to the English and Welsh criminal justice system,’ the court heard.
The judge said he is moving to Oxford Crown Court but wanted to make sure that Damji was sent to him personally to deal with once she was tracked down.
Judge Gledhill said: ‘The reason I called this on is that I move from this court to Oxford, starting work at Oxford on 1 September, and I wanted to find out what is happening with Damji and to ensure that when she is arrested she is brought to Oxford for me to deal with breach of bail.
‘There’s been some Twitter activity but apart from that nothing. At the moment I am without instructions as to what inquiries have been made.
‘What I’m told is that she left the jurisdiction and has gone to what used to be called Eire.
‘I know that one of her tweets made it quite clear that she was not going to submit any further to the English and Welsh criminal justice system.
‘I’m also told that an application has been put in place for a European Arrest warrant, but that has been submitted by the police presumably to the CPS and the last I heard was that it was sitting patiently on somebody’s desk at the CPS and I wanted to know why it was sitting there, why it’s not been pursued and therefore why she’s not been arrested.’
The judge adjourned the case until tomorrow for inquiries to be made into the issuing of the warrant and said that Damji would be sent straight to jail once she was found.
Judge Gledhill added: ‘As and when Damji is arrested she must be brought to Oxford for me to deal with and if she’s arrested in August I shall ask the judge dealing with her at this court to adjourn the breach of bail proceedings until she is taken to Oxford, because she will taken to prison as soon as she’s arrested to serve her sentence.’
Damji, of no fixed address, has numerous convictions for fraud, theft and perverting the course of justice. She denied but was convicted of two counts of breaching a restraining order following her latest trial.