09-08-2025
Brain surgeon who 'raped woman' and posed for series of selfies with an arsenal of weapons including knives in a Snapchat post with the message 'Who wants to play?' is struck off
A brain surgeon who assaulted a woman and posed for selfies with weapons including knives in a Snapchat post saying, 'Who wants to play?', has been struck off.
Dr Sayed Talibi, 38, of the town of Tamworth, Staffordshire, used to work for the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust.
But an array of horrifying charges against the British-born doctor have now been proven, at a General Medical Council (GMC) tribunal misconduct hearing.
He accumulated a range of incriminating videos, pictures and documents on his electronic devices from 2007 to 2018.
These included graphic footage of beheadings, including of the Taliban killing civilians and Pakistani soldiers, and an image of a waterboarding device.
His selfies with weapons included variously a large number of knives and an axe, with others showing him holding or pointing firearms, including rifles, semi-automatics and handguns.
His sinisterly captioned Snapchat post pictured three knives, a meat cleaver and a small sword.
The neurosurgeon also threatened to waterboard and brandished a knife at the woman he is said to have raped, attacking her and being threatening and abusive to her.
He denied raping the woman three times - but the tribunal found they once had sex without her consent and without him 'having reasonable belief' she was consenting.
Some images on his devices were thought to have have been taken 'in a foreign location'.
But one photo showing semi-automatic firearms, pistols and magazines laid out on a garden patio is believed to have been taken in the UK.
Other images on his devices showed heavy armoured vehicles and weaponry, an aerial shot of RAF Lakenheath and army bases in Italy, Greece, Turkey and the UK.
A charge he posed with a Russian rocket launcher was dropped.
The practitioner was accused of bringing the profession into disrepute.
When questioned by Simon Jackson KC, Talibi admitted he had been 'foolish' to pose for the selfies with weapons - but thought 'it was cool' at the time.
He denied being 'obsessed' with guns and expressing 'anti-Western attitudes' and said many photos showed 'BB' or 'toy' guns.
Talibi said his interests in guns and weaponry stemmed from his time as an army cadet at university and his ongoing interest in 'West Asian geopolitics'.
The neurosurgeon said he saw himself as a 'British patriot' and abhorred 'terrorism in any form'.
But Mr Jackson said the doctor's incriminating images showed he had 'anti-Western sentiments'.
Talibi replied: 'I'm sure everyone is allowed to disagree with politics but I don't disagree with being a law-abiding citizen in the West. They're two different things.'
But on top of this, he also created an online dating profile showing a picture of him participating in live brain surgery.
The graphic image, on the profile describing him as a '28-year-old brain surgeon', displayed the exposed brain of a patient.
Talibi also made racist and discriminatory comments, including saying he 'hated' non-Muslims, who he described with the derogatory term 'kuffar'.
He also said he 'hated' Afghans and Afghan culture.
The doctor also stole milk powder from an Asda supermarket, defrauded EDF Energy over a £770 energy bill and recorded a court appearance for driving offences.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust has been approached for comment.
