A 56-year-old man is standing trial before the Luxembourg City Court this week, facing charges of assault, battery, and rape against his ex-wife. Tuesday’s session also shed light on a history of alleged abuse spanning over a decade.
The couple arrived in Luxembourg from Iraq in November 2008, with the accused reportedly insisting his wife accompany him despite her pregnancy. At the time, she was working as a teacher and testified that she did not understand why they had to leave their home country.
Upon their arrival, the couple initially stayed at the ‘Don Bosco’ home. The victim recounted that her husband subjected her to physical violence at least three times a week, including strangulation and rape. She described feeling isolated, unable to seek help due to language barriers and her husband’s control over her life. It was only through YouTube that she later realised the sexual acts being committed were not “normal” but constituted rape.
A psychological expert testified that the victim’s statements were credible, noting that her cultural background may have influenced her understanding of the abuse. “She did not know it was rape because she comes from a cultural context where such behaviour is accepted,” the expert explained. A cultural perspective, combined with safety fears for herself and her children, likely delayed her decision to report the rape, initially filing a complaint only for physical violence.
The accused vehemently denied the charges against him during the trial, stating, “I have never beaten my wife in my life,” through an interpreter. However, the judge reminded him that he had been convicted twice for assault and battery against his wife in the past, with no appeals filed. The accused’s testimony was difficult to follow, as he frequently avoided direct answers and shifted between unrelated topics, maintaining his denial of all allegations.
In contrast, his ex-wife provided detailed and emotional testimony in French, recounting the brutal assaults and rapes she endured. When questioned by the judge about why the couple only separated in 2013, despite prior convictions, she explained, “The family forced me to go back to him.” She also revealed that her ex-husband had threatened to kill her sister in Iraq, instilling further fear and control over her.
The couple officially divorced in 2017, but the accused, who is unemployed, continued to harass his ex-wife. He frequently appeared outside her flat without visitation rights for their children and allegedly committed further acts of violence, including attacks in a car park and a park. Despite this, the ex-wife noted that he was never violent toward their children, now aged 15 and 16. The decision to separate was ultimately driven by their daughter witnessing the abuse.
The ex-wife also described instances where the accused allegedly threatened to kill her, including one occasion where he told their daughter he would kill her mother with a knife. In 2020, he reportedly threatened both the mother and daughter outside their home, stating he would kill them.
When asked by the judge why he did not return to Iraq, the accused replied, “because of my children.”
“In any case, he took me for an idiot,” the expert psychiatrist told the judge. The psychiatrist explained that when he conducted an assessment of the accused in 2022, he noticed that he had also evaluated the man in 2020 during a child custody dispute.
During the earlier evaluation, the accused presented himself as a caring husband, claiming he and his wife had known each other for a long time in Iraq and married for love. He alleged that his wife had psychological issues and that he moved her to Luxembourg to provide a better environment. He also emphasised his wealthy background in Iraq.
However, in the 2022 assessment, the accused offered a different story. He claimed that he and his wife fled Iraq because she became pregnant while they were unmarried, a situation he described as untenable in their home country. He also stated that he had served as a soldier in the Iran-Iraq war and suffered trauma as a result.
The psychiatrist concluded that the accused does not suffer from an acute mental illness, noting that “lying is not a psychiatric illness in itself.” However, the expert highlighted the challenges of treatment, given the accused’s persistent denial of all allegations.
The trial is set to continue on Wednesday.
