Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Roosh V: ‘Pro-rape’ pick up artist threatens court fight over EU travel ban

He has threatened to sue the EU after calls for Brussels to ban him

Emma Henderson
Monday 22 February 2016 16:54 GMT
Comments
Roosh V has previously been accused of admitting to committing rape
Roosh V has previously been accused of admitting to committing rape (Roosh V/YouTube)

A self-proclaimed “pick-up artist” has said he will take legal action against the EU if it tries to ban him from coming to Europe.

Daryush Valizadeh, known on social media as Roosh V, has been accused of being “pro-rape” after publishing a "satirical thought experiment" apparently advocating legalising rape on private premises as a means of reducing rape.

He has also been publically condemed for his 15 self-published books, which include titles such as “30 Bangs”, and YouTube videos giving advice to men on how to have sex with women.

He has now threatened to sue the EU after Mary Honeyball, a London Labour MP, asked Brussels to ban him following his repeated attempts to spread his “deplorable and violent” messages about women.

He said: “I absolutely deny her bogus allegations that I’m pro-rape, or that the February 6 meet-ups were about harming women.

“I intend to vigorously appeal any action against me that results from Honeyball’s complaints by using all available legal avenues in the European Union," according to the Evening Standard.

He purportedly suggested legalising rape on private property as a means of reducing rape, saying it would deter women who "voluntarily numbed themselves with alcohol and other drugs in social settings before letting the direction of the night's wind determine who they would follow into a private room.

"Without daddy government to protect her, a girl would absolutely not enter a private room with a man she doesn't know or trust unless she is absolutely sure she is ready to sleep with him."

He also calls himself a “neo-masculinist”, writing about methods of luring women into sex on his blog, Return of Kings.

The pickup artist had arranged a worldwide meet up for his followers on February 6, with locations in the UK including Manchester, Cardiff, Newcastle, Glasgow and London. A petition calling on the Scottish government to stop Roosh V attending a meeting in Edinburgh or Glasgow reached more than 400,000 signatures.

He tweeted a picture of flights he had booked to Australia, but a petition signed by more than 100,000 people was signed, calling for him to be banned.

He was denied entry to the country and cancelled many of his events, which were due to take place in six Australian cities, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

He announced cancelling the planned meet-ups on his website, claiming he could “no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend”.

Women, homosexuals and transgender people were not welcome at the meetings.

Posts on his blog including “5 reasons to date a girl with an eating disorder” and “5 ways to groom an Indian girl to be a subservient wife”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in