Woman condemns judge who refused to jail abusive husband because she 'wasn't vulnerable'

A domestic abuse victim has condemned a judge who refused to jail her ex-partner for pouring bleach down her throat and beating her with a cricket bat on grounds she was "not vulnerable”.

Judge Richard Mansell QC ruled Mustafa Bashir, 34, would be spared prison despite admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Fakhara Karim, saying he was “not convinced she [was] a vulnerable person”.

The 33-year-old has since said she was “disappointed” at the conclusions drawn by the judge, saying he didn’t believe her when she was “suffering for [her] life”.

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The 33-year-old told the BBC: “I am a confident and strong woman because of what I have suffered. I was suffering for my life but the judge didn’t believe me.”

Domestic violence charities meanwhile warned the ruling sent out a "dangerous message" that could discourage victims of domestic abuse from coming forward, telling The Independent the idea such abuse only affected certain women was a “complete fallacy”.

MPs also took aim at the judge, with Labour’s Jess Phillips saying the comments sent a “dangerous” message to women, while Conservative and chair of the Women and Equalities Select committee Maria Miller said the “brutality” of Bashir's acts needed to be “properly understood by judges”.

Judge Mansell heard Bashir had hit his wife with a cricket bat during a jealous outburst, and on a separate occasion held her by the neck, poured bleach down her throat and forced her to take tablets while ordering her to kill herself.

Ms Karim reportedly told the court her confidence was crushed by her jealous lover, who berated her for wearing westernised clothes and called her friends “English slag girls”.

In a statement, she added: “Before I met Mustafa Bashir I was a confident, active and humorous person. I looked after myself and liked dressing up. After the abuse my confidence was very low and I hid myself away from family and friends.

“He didn’t like me socialising and I couldn’t accept my friends' requests to go out. Once we split it took months for me to get my self-belief back and I am not back to the person I was before.

“I can’t see how I could trust another man again after what happened to me. I dreamt of being in a happy relationship and I do not feel now that that will ever happen with someone else.”

But the judge said he did not believe the receptionist was vulnerable because she was “an intelligent woman with a network of friends” and had a university degree.

Sentencing Mr Bashir to an 18-month jail term suspended for two years, Judge Mansell ordered him to attend a workshop entitled 'building better relationships', pay £1,000 costs and said he was banned from contacting Ms Karim indefinitely under the terms of a restraining order.

He added that his decision was in part informed by Bashir's claim to have prospective employment as a player for Leicestershire County Cricket Club — something the club has since denied, saying it was “appalled” by the "completely false" claims.

Wasim Khan, the club's chief executive, said in a statement: “Leicestershire CCC are appalled that Bashir could have invented a job offer from the club in order, it would seem, to evade a prison sentence.

“The club are actively involved in the fight against domestic abuse and had already arranged a ‘Bowling Out Domestic Violence’ cricket match in September in support of the White Ribbon Campaign, set up to tackle domestic violence.

“So Bashir’s claim was deeply disturbing for the club and we will continue to do what we can to support the authorities bring about justice.”

Responding to the ruling, the CEO of Solace Women’s Aid warned that the it sent out a “very dangerous message” to both victims and perpetrators, saying it would make victims feel they may not be believed, while the chief executive of UK charity Refuge said the judge had shown “shocking ignorance” around the issue of domestic violence against women.