A Belgian court has heard testimony from the son of an Iraqi refugee who called the police on his father while he was attempting to strangle the boy’s mother.
The 10-year-old boy from Meerhout reported his father, Ahmed A.R., to the authorities last September after the violent incident, leading to revelations of a long history of domestic abuse, with both the mother and son as victims.
“I hope you take dad, and he won’t be able to come home. Otherwise, I’m going to get hit because I called the police, like last time,” the boy told police officers.
Upon arrival, officers found visible lesions on the mother’s neck, further confirming signs of violence.
The Iraqi was subsequently arrested and is now facing trial at the Turnhout courthouse.
As reported by 7Sur7, the court heard how the Iraqi national fled his homeland in 2011 and has lived in Belgium ever since. He married two years later and the couple had their first son in 2014.
His wife told investigators that the abuse had been ongoing for years and that he treated her as an inferior, repeatedly forcing her into sex and also beating their eldest son.
Prosecutor Anouk Draulans detailed accounts from a family friend who corroborated the abuse, stating that “violence was frequent in the family.” Despite the mounting evidence, Ahmed A.R. denied all accusations, dismissing his son’s distress call as a mistake.
“There was never any question of an attempt to strangle her,” he claimed. When questioned about the red marks on his wife’s neck, he claimed, “I had given her a massage the day before.”
The accused alleged that his son had been manipulated, telling the court: “A mother can make her children say anything if she promises them a piece of chocolate.”
The prosecutor’s office has requested a one-year prison sentence, while the victim, though still legally married to the accused, is seeking damages.
Her lawyer, Ellen Iemants, emphasized the long-standing nature of the abuse. “We were hoping for a little questioning, but I still hear a lot of denial from the defense. It is intra-family violence from which she has not been able to escape for years. She hopes that this will finally end.”
The defense has sought to justify Ahmed A.R.’s behavior by citing ill health with his lawyer, Abdul Anas, claiming his client has been taking strong painkillers following a workplace accident in 2015 that make him irritable.
The verdict is expected to be delivered on April 29.
