FD25P00001 - [2025] EWHC 892 (Fam)

The mother has filed two long and repetitive witness statements. She explains the relationship with the father has broken down irretrievably. She alleges emotional, psychological, financial and sexual abuse on the part of the father. She is not in employment as she is a full time mother. She is in receipt of Universal Credit and legal aid.

She explains that she reported allegations of abuse by the father to the police when she returned to the UK in December 2024. He was arrested and bail conditions were imposed that require he does not have direct or indirect contact with her. These last for three months. She explains she is proceeding with criminal charges. She explains she had to leave Dubai because she was scared and vulnerable in the face of the father’s domestic abuse. She explains the background to their Islamic marriage and states the abuse began early in the marriage. It is not necessary to overburden this judgment with all the allegations and details she sets out in her two witness statements.

She details two extremely serious allegations. One when she alleges the father held a knife to her throat and the other is an allegation of rape. Mr Rustin’s position statement helpfully summarises the majority of her allegations. I quote from this as he has distilled her lengthy evidence into a short summary:

“She describes a pattern of intimidating, threatening and humiliating behaviour by F designed to frighten M and subordinate her to him:

a.

F threatened M with a knife and held it against her throat, which frightened M;

b.

There were many occasions where F would become very aggressive and throw things and slam his hand on the table to show dominance, this would frighten M. On one occasion F screamed in M’s face and told her she needed to sit down and stop thinking she has any dominance as she is not a man. F told M that he is a man and threatened her that he has strength and wouldn't take long to drop her to the ground if he pushed her;

c.

On 14 November 2024, F ransacked M’s drawers, threw M’s passport in her face and shouted in her face that she must take her things and leave before he ends up doing something he regrets;

d.

In September 2022, F had a huge argument with M and became very aggressive and shouted in her face while squeezing her hands tightly to hurt her;

e.

F would tell M that she needed mental help and sectioning and he threatened to call the police on her;

f.

On many occasions F threatened to remove [S] from M’s care; he told her that he would drag her through the court and she would not have a penny left once he was done with her. F told M that he knew the system as he did it for a living and she would have no chance. He constantly used his status as a solicitor as a means of intimidation, threatening M, saying that he will “chew her up and spit me out in a court of law”;

g.

F would sleep in a separate room with [S] and would not allow M to go into the room to settle him if [S] became upset;

h.

F would threaten and blackmail M that he would tell her family things about her that he knew she did not want them to know. He would use this against M and say he would get her in trouble with her family. He threatened M that if he told them things they would disown her;

i.

F would tell M that in his family married women only leave their husband’s home when they are dead, threatening harm to M if she left him;

j.

F would humiliate M by telling her that she was looking fat and no longer attractive anymore in front of others;

k.

F would monitor her interactions with his friends and family and afterward, he would insult M, call her an embarrassment and make her feel worthless;

l.

When M and F had disagreements, F would punish M by ignoring her for days;