Man remanded in custody over repeatedly raping partner over span of several months

A 27-year-old Palestinian man was remanded in custody on Friday after being accused of having repeatedly raped his partner over the span of several months.

Mahmoud Abdelkhadir was arraigned under arrest before magistrate Gabriella Vella, on charges of having raped the mother of his children, detained her against her will and subjected her to acts offensive to her modesty on multiple occasions.

The man was also accused of subjecting the woman to non-consensual sexual acts, as well as grievously injuring and harassing her. The alleged sexual offences were considered aggravated by his relationship with the alleged victim.

Further charges were also pressed, relating to repeated incidents where the man allegedly threatened, attacked, or caused the woman to fear he would be violent towards her.

Police inspector Omar Zammit told the court that police’s Domestic Violence Unit were informed when the alleged victim had gone to hospital on 17 April after the latest violent incident involving the defendant.

She had told police officers that her partner had caused her injuries, going on to allege that he had also raped her a number of times over a span of several months. The woman made a sworn statement to the police, who then proceeded to arrest the defendant at the residence in Bormla which he shared with the woman.

Abdelkhadir pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutor Cynthia Tomasuolo asked the court to impose a ban on the publication of the woman’s name as well as to issue her with a protection order.

Defence lawyer Brandon Lee Muscat also requested a ban on the publication of the defendant’s name, arguing that it would lead to the identification of the victim and secondary victimisation, but Tomasuolo replied that they did not share the same surname.

The magistrate upheld the prosecution’s requests and imposed a four-year protection order in favour of the woman, prohibiting the defendant from contacting her or following her movements. The request for a publication ban on the woman’s name was also upheld to avoid her suffering secondary victimisation.

The court denied the defence’s request for a ban on the defendant’s name, however, stating that it had no basis in law.

Bail was not requested.