Aziz Rehman has been jailed for three years and nine months years after abusing his wife
A wife kept prisoner in her own home for 16 years feared she would die at the hands of her abusive husband who imprisoned her in their home and subjected her to vicious beatings.
Aziz Rehman ‘ran his house like a prison’ while he routinely beat and belittled Zeenit Bibi.
The 36-year-old only escaped after she confided in a friend while her husband was on a ten-day break in Greece – where, she later found out, he was getting married to another woman.
Shop owner Rehman, from Birmingham, denied coercive and controlling behaviour and assaulting his wife, but was found guilty by a jury last month.
He was jailed for three years and nine months years at Birmingham Crown Court today, following a two-week trial.
Mrs Bibi said she felt like she was trapped ‘in a bubble with no exits’, as Rehman cut her off from her family, including her six brothers and sisters, and friends.
She was banned from having a phone and kept locked up in the family home when he was away, only allowed out for the school run, or accompanied by him or his mother.
He secretly wedged twigs in the front door so he could check if his wife had left the house without his permission and beat her before apologising or buying gifts.
Mrs Bibi said that ‘in the last two years, he went to the next level’, completely closing her off from everyone else.
Zeenit Bibi escaped after she confided in a friend while her husband was on a ten-day break in Greece – where, she later found out, he was getting married to another woman
The turning point came in the aftermath of a violent assault in their home, leaving her fearing she would die on May 4, 2016 – ‘the last day he laid a hand on me’.
‘He was very physically abusive,’ she said. ‘To the extent where the last time he was abusive I didn’t think I was going to make it.
‘I had dumbbells put on my head, I had a foldable chair hit on my knee, I wasn’t walking properly.
‘I was left, for those four days, I wasn’t allowed to go the doctor’s, I wasn’t allowed to be in the hospital.
‘My ribs were done in, my knees were done in, and I told people, “It’s OK – I fell over the lawnmower”.
‘At that point I thought, “Well, this ain’t happening anymore”, because I physically did think I wasn’t going to be there.
‘It was that time when I decided I can’t be doing this anymore.’
Having confided in a friend, they told a teacher at the local school while police and social services supported her.
Following his arrest Rehman fled to Pakistan for 10 months while on bail, but flew back to the UK via Norway, France and Scotland, then drove across the English border.
Mrs Bibi discovered he had returned and notified police, before Rehman handed himself in.
Speaking of her decision to leave, she said: ‘That’s the best thing I ever did. I couldn’t shout this out any louder than what I am now.
‘Speak up about it, talk to that one person, otherwise, you might not see tomorrow.’
West Midlands Police said since legislation was introduced in 2015 to tackle controlling and coercive relationships, 35 people in the force area had been charged.