A rapist who was convicted in his absence of carrying out a sex attack on a sleeping university student has left Scotland for Iran, a court has heard.
Omed Hassan failed to appear at the High Court in Edinburgh for the final day of his trial in March this year when jurors were deliberating on their verdict.
Hassan, 26, had denied assaulting and raping the woman on February 3 in 2023 at an address in St Andrews while she was asleep and incapable of giving or withholding consent.
After Hassan, who was on bail, failed to turn up a judge held that it was in the interests of justice for the trial to proceed in his absence.
The jury convicted him by a majority verdict of the sex crime with Hassan missing from the dock and sentence was deferred on him.
Arrest warrant
A warrant was issued for his arrest and Police Scotland said he was known to frequent Perth, Fife and Aberdeen as an appeal – which did not mention he had gone on the run after being convicted of rape – was made to trace him.
The force said extensive enquiries and searches were being made for him and urged members of the public not to approach him, but instead contact police.
The case called on Thursday before the trial judge Lord Ericht and defence solicitor advocate Kris Gilmartin said he understood the court has now received information that Hassan is in Iran.
A post conviction warrant for the arrest of Hassan was granted which would bring him before the court for sentence should he be apprehended.
Hassan, formerly of Loretta House, Scott Street, Perth, told his trial through a Kurdish interpreter that he disputed that the woman who he went on “a date” with fell asleep and said: “I was having sex with her while she was awake.”
The court heard that the victim woke up to find him bearing down on her and having sex with her. Others saw her subsequent upset and distress.
Hassan denied that he called the police after the incident to get his version of events in first and maintained it was because he was frightened of the victim’s friends.
He said that earlier in the evening he and the woman were getting on “very well” and were enjoying each other’s company and he went back to the address because she invited him.
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