British media have reported that Abdul Nabizada, a 36-year-old Afghan man, has been sentenced to seven years in prison in Scotland after being convicted of raping a woman.
According to the BBC’s English-language service, Nabizada raped a 19-year-old woman inside his car in November 2021 after picking her up following a night out in Edinburgh and driving her home.
Nabizada, who had previously worked as an interpreter for British, Danish, and US military forces in Afghanistan, denied the charge. He also claimed that he had developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an explosive device detonated near where he was working.
However, a jury at the High Court of Scotland unanimously found Nabizada guilty last month. Judge John Morris KC, when sentencing him, said that by committing the offence, he had committed a “gross betrayal of trust.”
According to evidence presented to the court, the victim got into Nabizada’s car on Morrison Street in Edinburgh on November 13, 2021, after spending the evening with friends and while intoxicated. She told the court that she believed Nabizada was going to drive her home.
The woman testified that Nabizada repeatedly asked her to have sex with him during the journey, and that she refused each time. She told him that she had a boyfriend.
According to evidence presented at the trial, Nabizada then drove the woman to an isolated area in Joppa, near Portobello. The victim told the court that Nabizada took her phone and, following a struggle, raped her inside the car.
She also told the court that she managed to get out of the vehicle and hid among bushes for some time. She subsequently told a relative what had happened.
Nabizada, a father of four, lived in the Pilton area of Edinburgh. After arriving in the United Kingdom in 2016, he applied for British citizenship.
Before leaving Afghanistan, he worked as a tailor, while also working with military forces. Nabizada translated from Persian into Pashto, Urdu, and Arabic.
David Taylor, Nabizada’s defence lawyer, told the court before sentencing that his client was “at risk of deportation” as a result of the conviction.
The court ultimately sentenced Nabizada to seven years in prison.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
