Asylum seeker says she was raped after mosque ceremony

Wed, 07 Apr, 2021 - 18:31

Declan Brennan

A woman seeking asylum here to avoid a forced marriage in her native country has told a trial that a man raped her in his flat shortly after a ceremony conducted in a local mosque.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three counts of rape, one of sexual assault and one of attempted rape of the woman in his Dublin home on dates between December 1 and December 3, 2017.

Giving evidence via video link from a witness room in the CCJ court house in Dublin city, the now 36-year-old woman said she came to Ireland in November 2017 to attend a conference outside of Dublin county.

She said she later travelled to the capital and filed papers with the International Protection Office to seek asylum in Ireland. She was told about a particular centre who could help her and a contact in this centre then told her about a mosque in Dublin.

Service for Muslim community

She said she became aware that there was a service that was provided to the Muslim community where they could arrange for people to meet who were interested in getting married. She ultimately was introduced to the accused through this mosque and they met a number of times.

Continuing her evidence today the woman told Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, that on Friday, December 1, 2017, she met the man and he drove to a building he said was his local mosque. This was not the mosque that had arranged the initial meeting and she said the building looked ordinary and not like a mosque.

She said the man told her there was nowhere in this mosque for women to pray so she waited in the car while he went in and did his prayers. She said nearly two hours later he came out and brought her in and she met the Imam who was dressed in white.

She said there were five other men there too and everyone sat down and the Imam asked her some questions about herself. She said the Imam explained that he and the men were going to be present or witness to “a ceremony”.

Money offered

She said this man recited some verses of the Koran – two of which he got wrong, she said – and then asked her how much money she wanted. The court heard that a payment of money was a marriage tradition in some Islamic cultures.

“I was surprised. I'd never been in a situation like this. I didn't expect the question. My response was I said I didn't want any money because I am not getting married to this man,” the woman testified.

She said the Imam then said he would act on her behalf because her father was not there and he set the figure of €500. The defendant then took €20 from his pocket, gave it to the woman and said he would pay the rest later, the woman said.

She said the Imam and other men began congratulating her. She said she believed that what had happened was similar to her and the defendant becoming engaged.

“My understanding we are going to be together, this is not a marriage. It is like officially fiancée stage. But not married,” she said.

She said in her culture such an engagement would be celebrated but was different to an official wedding which would involve official documentation.

'You are my wife'

She said she travelled back with the man to his home and once inside he tried to kiss her and told her “you are my wife” and she told him she wasn't. She said he then pushed her into a bedroom and was trying to take her clothes off.

She said she was crying and asking him to stop and trying to push him away and he eventually stopped and left the room. He later went to collect his daughter and when he came back the three of them ate a meal in his flat.

The defendant left again with his daughter and in text messages he asked why he couldn't touch her and she said “because we aren't married yet”, she testified. She said he asked if I was his wife and I said no.

When the defendant returned home later he was alone and he again began touching the woman, she said. She said she was crying and asking him to stop and trying to hold her legs firmly together.

“He sat with his whole body on top of me. I don't know how, he took off my pyjamas and underwear and opened his trousers and put his penis inside my vagina,” she said.

The complainant became visibly upset for a number of minutes before telling Mr Gillane “I was crying and asking him to stop. He didn't stop”. She said he told her to “shut up”.

She said after this the man left the flat and returned with his daughter. She said she felt safer because of the child's presence and she went to bed.

'Shut up, don't make any noises'

She said the next morning the man came into the room where she was sleeping and began taking her clothes off again. She said she began crying again and the accused put a pillow on her face so she found it difficult to breathe.

She said the defendant told her “don't do anything, my child is sleeping” and told her to “shut up, don't make any noises”.

“He was holding my legs very tight and the pillow was on my face with him pushing me,” she said. The witness became upset as she told the jury that the defendant was trying to put his penis inside her again.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Alexander Owens and a jury of eight men and four women.

The jury has previously heard that when questioned the defendant accepted there had been sexual contact but said it was all consensual and initiated by the complainant.