On her 21st birthday in 2017, aspiring model Resham Khan was sitting in a car at a set of traffic lights with her cousin when John Tomlin—unprovoked—threw acid at them through an open car window.
Both Resham and her cousin, Jameel Muhktar, were badly scarred and Resham was forced into an induced coma due to the severity of her injuries.
Below: Rashem before the horrific attack.
It took 45 minutes for emergency services to reach the pair, who were forced to remove their clothing on the side of the motorway while attempting to flag people down pleading for water.
Photos of her traumatic injuries are shocking and extremely upsetting, but on the anniversary of the attack, Rasheem has posted a defiant photo of her recovery.
She lost hearing in one ear and suffered third degree burn to her head and body in the attack. One year on, she’s in Turkey celebrating her 22nd birthday with her friends, revelling in just how far she’s come since the attack.
Her attacker Tomlin was jailed for 16 years at Snaresbrook Crown Court back in April.
CCTV footage—aired in court—showed Tomlin chasing the vehicle as his victims tried to flee the attack before they crashed into a fence on the motorway.
Witnesses described seeing both victims “jumping around as if they were on fire” and their clothes “melting on to the ground”.
Over the last four years, acid attacks in London have seen a significant increase.
Police believe acid is rising in popularity amongst gangs due to how easy it is to obtain as well as how hard it is to link the weapon to a specific perpetrator.
Last year, it was used in 454 crimes in comparison to 261 the year before, according to Met Police figures obtained by the BBC.
In the wake of her attack, Resham started an online blog to document her recovery.
Following the attacks, the young woman shared that she was often too scare to leave the house.
“Today I was too petrified to walk to my local shop. Too scared to face the world. Too scared of the looks I might get. Too scared to tackle the question, ‘How are you’,” she wrote.
“Just too scared. That’s all I’ve been. Terrified and reluctant. My life on pause, frozen with fear.”
From being scared to walk outside to celebrating her anniversary of the attack in Turkey surrounded by friends—an incredible recovery from an incredible young woman.
