A jet-setting Kuwaiti playboy who allegedly bashed-up one of his three wives will escape justice after the cops who charged him refused to apply for a criminal justice visa that would have allowed him back into Australia.
Yousef Alrasheed was accused of kicking and choking his wife during a violent assault in their Maribyrnong home, in Melbourne’s inner west, in March last year.
He was charged by Victoria Police with three counts of unlawful assault over the attack, which allegedly saw him don white gloves to choke his wife in the dead of night in her own bed.
Yousef Alrasheed was accused of kicking and choking his wife during a violent attack in their Maribyrnong home. He remains in his homeland of Kuwait but will now apply for a visa to return without charges hanging over his head
Criminal lawyer George Balot, of Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers, fought to bring Alrasheed back to Australia to face justice despite objections from Victoria Police
Alrasheed is the heir to a multi-million dollar retail sporting giant business in his homeland, which has been compared to the Kuwaiti version of Rebel Sport.
He had been granted a visa to live in Australia with one of his three wives who remains in Australia on a student visa.
Alrasheed’s visa expired while he was on a visit to Kuwait in February and the Department of Immigration has refused to renew it.
Court documents state Alrasheed lost his cool after an argument with his wife about the cleanliness of their house.
With the couple’s two-year old present, Alrasheed allegedly lashed out, pushing his wife over and repeatedly kicking her while she was down.
The terrified woman called the police, but two days later her husband was allegedly back at it.
This time he allegedly returned to their home in the dead of night.
Court documents state Alrasheed pulled on white gloves from a plastic bag and crept into the family home.
Upon finding his wife asleep in bed, Alrasheed allegedly placed his hands around her throat and began to throttle her.
The terrified woman fought back, grabbing her husband by the testicles and squeezing them until he released his grip.
Hearing the commotion, their little girl came running into the bedroom and began crying.
It was an act that possibly saved the woman’s life as Alrasheed picked her up and returned her to her own bedroom where he too fell asleep.
Police caught up with him again later that day where Alrasheed denied he had attacked his wife.
‘No, no fighting,’ he told them. ‘I embraced my wife with a hug and she embraced me back.’
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Cara Diamond was criticised by both the magistrate and Alrasheed’s lawyer George Balot after declaring it would ‘reflect badly’ on police if he re-offended
Magistrate Constantinos Kilias heard Victoria Police refused to apply for a specific criminal justice visa designed to ensure alleged criminals abroad can be prosecuted because it was afraid it would look bad if he re-offended here.
‘It would reflect badly on Victoria Police as Victoria Police facilitated his re-entry,’ police prosecutor Sen-Constable Cara Diamond told Mr Kilias.
Mr Kilias warned the prosecutor that Victoria Police’s failure to apply for the visa could result in him dismissing the charges and gave her time to make further inquiries with more senior officers.
Under a section of the Immigration Act, the attorney general, Director of Public Prosecutions or Victoria Police can apply for the visa.
It is understood the DPP would not pursue the matter because it was not its prosecution.
The bizarre case saw Alrasheed’s own lawyer fight to have him granted the visa so he could return to Melbourne and contest the charges.
The matter hit court after Victoria Police applied for a warrant to arrest Alrasheed, despite him requiring entry into the country for any warrant to be executed.
High profile criminal lawyer George Balot told the court his client was prepared to place $10,000 in a trust account to pay for his flight and expenses.
He argued the warrant was futile as his client wanted to contest the case, but needed a visa to attend court.
‘Issuing a warrant of arrest would be superfluous,’ he said.
A migration agent was called at a previous hearing to give evidence and said she had never heard of a criminal justice visa being refused by the minister.
Magistrate Constantinos Kilias heard Victoria Police refused to apply for a specific criminal justice visa designed to ensure alleged criminals abroad can be prosecuted
Police refused to apply for the visa ‘due to the nature of the incident and the likely outcome’.
The magistrate was scathing in his assessment of the police prosecution’s attitude to the visa application.
Before striking out the charges, Mr Kilias gave Senior Constable Diamond one last chance to make the application, but she again refused.
‘The accused has clearly indicated he wishes to face and deal with the charges,’ Mr Kilias said.
He told the prosecutor that any visa application made by Alrasheed himself could take anywhere up to 14 months to be processed, and even then, likely refused because of the charges.
‘Victoria Police has steadfastly refused or to even apply for a visa,’ he said.
The court heard police had stubbornly refused to apply for the visa over a range of reasons, including its fear of how it might look if Alrasheed reoffended, its failure to be able to monitor his movements and the cost of his travel.
‘Victoria Police do not think the outcome justifies the expense of the visa,’ Mr Kilias said.
He said Victoria Police’s refusal had ‘nothing to do with justice, but cost effectiveness’ and an ability to monitor Alrasheed.
‘Victoria Police has shown a lack of bona fides in the prosecution of this case,’ he said.
Daily Mail Australia has been told while Alrasheed is only legally married in Australia to one woman, he in fact has three wives under Islamic law.
Outside court, Mr Balot – who has applied for costs – was scathing of Victoria Police.
‘The proper administration of justice requires accused persons would be entitled to attend court in person, pursuant to the Charter of Human Rights,’ he said.
‘The prosecution didn’t think so. The learned magistrate gave them an opportunity to do so. He warned them the charges would be dismissed if they refused to accept and apply for a visa because it was too expensive.
‘That, in my view, reflects badly. The prosecution submitted it would reflect badly on Victoria Police to bring him back. In my view it reflects badly on the prosecution refusing to bring him back for serious family violence incident.’
It is understood Alrasheed will now attempt to gain a business visa with a view to opening his own sporting shops in Australia.