A Dundee woman says she feared she would be killed when her husband started abusing her just days into their arranged marriage.
The woman has spoken out for the first time about the “paralysing” abuse she suffered at the hands of Fahd Ahmed.
The 34-year-old woman, who is too afraid to be named, has told her story after Ahmed was convicted of abusing her over the course of several weeks last year.
The woman told The Courier: “No one should have to suffer what I have gone through. I thought I was going to be killed.
“The abuse within my marriage has left me with nothing.
“I’m still suffering trauma and he still has everything that belongs to me – even my underwear.”
Abuse ‘began days into Dundee woman’s arranged marriage’
The woman says she wed Ahmed in an arranged marriage in Livingston in February 2023, and moved there to live with him.
She claims he began his abuse within their first week together and continued until she fled their home.
She has since returned home to Dundee.
In November, Ahmed admitted that between March 8 and May 23 2023, he had engaged in a course of abusive behaviour towards the woman.
This included repeatedly shouting at her and making threats, attempting to deprive her of her mobile phone, repeatedly demanding her pin number for her mobile, repeatedly uttering derogatory remarks and seizing her clothing, causing it to rip.
Ahmed, 35, was sentenced to a community payback order at Livingston Sheriff Court, with supervision for 20 months and a requirement he attends a domestic abuse programme for the same period.
He was also given a year-long non-harassment order.
His former partner said: “The sentence is too lenient.
“He only got 20 months of community service – it will take me a lot longer than 20 months to recover from the abuse I suffered.
“What he did to me physically and mentally has left me paralysed with fear.
“I am back in Dundee trying to recover.
“It was next-level abuse. He made lots of threats. I thought I would be killed if I didn’t get out.”
‘I was left emotionally and physically paralysed’
The woman says she is still in therapy and has been unable to work since her ordeal.
She added: “I was left emotionally and physically paralysed.
“He monitored everything I did, he stopped me seeing my family, accused me of being unfaithful and told me I couldn’t go back to work.
“He said everything was my fault. He blamed anything that went wrong with him on me.
“He said he was in charge of my phone and ask me for my pin numbers – he tried to control everything.
“I hope no one else has to suffer the way I have.”
Conversation