Latest news with #refuge
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
Migrant on student visa murdered wife while she pushed their baby in a pram
A migrant who came to the UK on a student visa murdered his wife after tracking her to a women's refuge in Bradford. Habibur Masum, 26, stabbed Kulsuma Akter, 27, in broad daylight in April last year before walking away, leaving her 'bleeding to death in the gutter' and their seven-month-old son behind in a pram. Jurors heard the couple had met and married in Bangladesh, and came to the UK in 2022 after he obtained a student visa and enrolled on a Masters course to study marketing. The defendant, who gave evidence through a Bengali interpreter, told the trial they initially had a long-distance relationship as he lived in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, while studying and she lived in Oldham, Greater Manchester, with her brother. Masum followed Akter to the refuge in Bradford where she had been staying to escape him after he held a knife to her throat following an assault at the home they had moved to in Oldham. After finding her through her phone location, Masum was seen on CCTV in the days leading up to the fatal attack 'loitering, watching and waiting' in streets around the hostel, jurors heard. He sent her messages threatening to kill her family members if she did not return to him, before trying to lure her out by sending her fake messages from a GP practice pretending their son had an appointment and warning of 'increasingly dire consequences' if she did not attend. Bradford Crown Court heard Akter eventually felt safe enough to leave the refuge on April 6 last year after Masum updated his Facebook page, falsely claiming to be in Spain. As she was walking in the city centre with a friend, pushing her baby in a pram, Masum confronted her, the trial heard. Stephen Wood KC, prosecuting, told jurors Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer her and the pram away before pulling a knife from his jacket and launching the 'brutal attack' when he realised she was not coming with him. CCTV footage of the attack, played during the trial, showed that Masum stabbed her at least 25 times, put her on the ground and kicked her 'as a final insult' before lifting her head and cutting her throat. Mr Wood said the 'smiling killer' then calmly walked through Bradford city centre and was seen on CCTV grinning as he got on a bus, 'believing at that point he was getting away'. Jurors heard that Masum then travelled almost 200 miles south to Aylesbury and was arrested in the early hours of April 9 in a car park near Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where he had gone to be treated for 'lockjaw'. During the trial, Masum refused to watch footage of the attack, but jurors heard that he had requested to see it during his first police interview, with Mr Wood saying he wanted to see what officers 'had on him'. When he gave evidence, Masum said he did not remember killing his wife and had taken a knife with him intending to stab himself in front of her if she did not 'listen to him'. He broke down in tears as he claimed to have 'lost control' when Akter told him there would be no shortage of people willing to replace him as a father to their son. But Mr Wood said his tears 'were as fake as his claims of self-harm' and that 'the only person Habibur Masum feels sorry for is himself'. He said antagonising Masum was 'the very last thing Kulsuma would do' as she knew what he was capable of. Mr Wood said the relationship between Masum and Akter was 'an abusive relationship characterised by his jealousy, possessiveness and controlling behaviour'. Jurors heard that in August 2022, Masum was found by police at a tram station, where he had stayed all night after an argument with Akter. He was taken to hospital where he told a doctor that 'when he fights with her, he feels like he is going to kill her'. The pair moved into a house in Oldham together in September 2022. In July 2023, Akter went to stay with her brother because of Masum's controlling behaviour, leading him to threaten to harm himself with a knife before she returned. On Nov 23 that year, he became jealous over a 'completely innocuous' message she received from a male colleague, grabbing her face, slapping her and pulling her hair. The court heard he told her: 'I am going to murder you, and the police will be taking me.' The following day, he went into their bedroom carrying a knife and held it to her throat, jurors were told. Akter's sister-in-law called the police and Masum was arrested, with Akter deciding to leave him and being moved to the Bradford refuge by Oldham social services in January last year. Masum denied the November incident and claimed Akter had fabricated a domestic violence case against him as a way to stay in the UK, while he wanted to return to Bangladesh. The court heard that while Akter was at the refuge, Masum sent her a photo of the front of the building with a message saying: 'I know that you are living in this place. I knew from the first day you moved here. 'If I had any wish to kill you, I could have from the first day. You do not know what you have lost but one day you will understand. Nobody will love you like I do.' The court heard Akter's social worker arranged for her to be rehoused and she was due to move on April 8, but in the meantime, she heard from Masum's brother that he was in Spain, and 'felt safe to leave the refuge' on the day she was killed. Masum had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murder. On Friday, he was found guilty of the more serious charge, as well as one charge of assault, one count of making threats to kill and one charge of stalking. He pleaded guilty to possession of a knife in public.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
US signs agreements with Guatemala and Honduras to take asylum seekers
GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemala and Honduras have signed agreements with the United States to potentially offer refuge to people from other countries who otherwise would seek asylum in the United States, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday at the conclusion of her Central America trip . The agreements expand the Trump administration's efforts to provide the U.S. government flexibility in returning migrants not only to their own countries, but also to third countries as it attempts to ramp up deportations.
The Independent
5 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Quarter of women fleeing abuse unable to secure suitable refuge vacancy, new report finds
Almost one in four women fleeing abuse are unable to find refuge in safe accommodation, a new report has found. Domestic abuse survivors and their children are continuing to face significant — and often life-threatening — obstacles to find safety, a new report from Women's Aid has found. Its annual No Woman Turned Away (NWTA) report found that 23.7 per cent of women supported by the project were unable to secure a place in a refuge in 2024, despite repeated searches by specialist practitioners. Alarmingly, the report found 24 per cent of women were subjected to further abuse while waiting for temporary refuge accommodation, and 8.8 per cent were forced to sleep rough in order to escape abuse — an increase on the previous year. Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women's Aid, said: 'Survivors of domestic abuse must not be left without safety or support simply because of their immigration status or a lack of available refuge spaces. The findings of this report show the devastating impact of systemic failures. 'Urgent action is needed to ensure every woman and child fleeing abuse can access the protection and support they need to rebuild their lives in safety.' NWTA provides support to women experiencing domestic abuse who face barriers in accessing a refuge space or safe accommodation. The report highlights the continued devastating consequences of a national shortage of refuge spaces, with many forced to choose between homelessness or remaining trapped with their abuser. Thousands of women across the UK face danger in their own homes, but a woman is turned away from a refuge every two hours due to a lack of space. This is why The Independent launched its Brick by Brick campaign last September to raise £300,000 to build a haven for women escaping their abusive partners. The hugely successful campaign, launched in partnership with leading domestic abuse charity Refuge, was backed by readers, politicians, royalty and celebrities when it launched in September last year. When the initial target of £300,000 was reached after just a month of fundraising, The Independent decided to build a second house and more than £585,000 was raised in total by our generous readers. The new semi-detached houses, built by Persimmon Homes, are in a secret location to protect survivors. They have two double-sized bedrooms, open-plan kitchens and built-in cupboard storage space, as well as solar panels on the roof and a private drive with off-road parking. The homes also include a number of safety features, including CCTV, a fireproof letterbox, and enhanced locking on windows and doors. After the 10,946 bricks were laid, an all-female team of decorators added the finishing touches to the property to make it a true home for those seeking refuge. Construction on the first purpose-built safe house was completed earlier this year, and a family has already moved in.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Irish Times
Woman who alleged partner broke foot and put hand to her throat gets protection order
A woman who went with her young children to a refuge after her partner allegedly became violent, put his hand to her throat and broke her foot by throwing a heavy object on it has secured a protection order. The distressed woman said the children were crying and saying: 'Leave Mammy alone.' She locked herself and the children into a room and neighbours called gardaí, who came and escorted her and the children out of the apartment to a refuge. Her partner had resumed drinking and taking drugs. He assumed it was her who contacted gardaí and called her 'a rat', she said. READ MORE The man owns the apartment where she and the children have lived for several years, the emergency domestic violence court at Dublin's Dolphin House heard. Judge Gerard Furlong said the woman could not seek a barring order because the apartment is in the man's name. However, the court would grant a protection order on an ex-parte (one side only represented) basis, restraining him using, or threatening, violence towards her and the children. When the judge said the man could communicate with her only concerning access to the children, the woman said Tusla had said he could not have access, it was 'too dangerous'. In another of about 20 ex-parte applications on Friday, a woman who alleged she was 'preyed on' by a man when she was homeless got a protection order against him. After she got her own accommodation, he moved in and was violent to her, breaking her ribs, foot and thumb and inflicting 'countless black eyes' and bruising, she said. He tried to kill her and to get her to kill herself, 'put me down a lot' and turned her friends and family against her, she said. He put a camera in her house, stalked her and tracked her phone and while he is now out of her house, she fears for her safety, she said. A young man separately got a protection order against his ex-partner over her alleged conduct towards him since their relationship of a few months ended. He alleged she has sent him more than 1,000 messages, follows him from his work, and had ignored warnings from gardaí and a 'cease and desist' letter from his solicitor. She has claimed to have qualifications in surveillance and tactical training and he is 'in constant fear' for the safety of himself and his current partner, he said. A woman who said she wants a separation from her husband but is fearful how he will respond sought a protection order to protect her and their young children during the separation process. She said she has been subject for years to coercive control, psychological and financial abuse by him. He is 'very unpredictable' and switches between calm and aggressive behaviour towards her and the children, she said. He often lost his temper in front of their children and she had come home to them crying and asking her not to leave them alone with him, she said. He is financially abusive, threatening not to pay bills unless she is intimate with him, and had taken her credit card and emptied all their Revolut accounts, she said. He isolated her from her family and friends in the past and is again doing so, insisting she 'put him first', she said. 'I'm scared to stay with him, I can't let him frighten the kids any more.' The judge said that while he initially thought fear of her husband's possible response to her separation plan could not be a basis for a protection order, she had provided enough evidence of his actual behaviour for an order to be granted. A young woman got a protection order against her father whom she alleged is an alcoholic who is verbally and financially abusive. He throws objects at her and her cats and shouts 'vulgar sexual profanities' at her in front of her younger sister including: 'You're getting raped' and 'I will f*** you hard', she alleged. She did not know 'if he meant that in a sexual way', she told the judge. There were many examples of such 'aggressive torture' over the years, she added.
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Angela Rayner praises ‘amazing' Independent Brick by Brick campaign as family fleeing abuse get safe haven
Angela Rayner has praised The Independent 's 'amazing' Brick by Brick campaign after the first family fleeing domestic abuse moved into a home it built. The deputy prime minister said she was heartened by the success of the campaign and urged backers to continue supporting it to go from strength to strength. Construction on two purpose-built safe houses was completed earlier this year, and now a survivor of abuse has been handed the keys to their new home – and a fresh start. The hugely successful campaign, launched in partnership with leading domestic abuse charity Refuge, was backed by readers, politicians, royalty and celebrities when it launched in September last year. Speaking to The Independent on Thursday, Ms Rayner said: 'Because the feelings of relief I read about from those first movers encapsulates what a house can mean to people – it's not just a home but a sanctuary. 'Supporting vulnerable families and their children into safe and secure housing is a matter that I hold close to my heart. That's why this government is injecting millions of pounds of funding so domestic abuse survivors can access lifesaving support when they need it the most. 'Just today I announced that we're rewriting the rules to ensure domestic abuse survivors do not face unfair barriers when trying to access social housing when they have had to move to a new area. 'I will continue to work day and night to make sure more families can have a safe roof over their head and I am proud this campaign is leading by example.' The first occupant, who must remain anonymous for safety reasons, said: "As soon as I walked in, it felt warm, safe and homely. It's the first time I had slept properly in months. 'The children are the happiest they have been for a long time." The new semi-detached houses, built by Persimmon Homes, are in a secret location to protect survivors. They have two double-sized bedrooms, open-plan kitchens and built-in cupboard storage space, as well as solar panels on the roof and a private drive with off-road parking. The homes also include a number of safety features, including CCTV, a fireproof letterbox, and enhanced locking on windows and doors. Geordie Greig, editor-in-chief of The Independent, said: 'This is significant because it helps the most vulnerable people who are in danger of their lives being severely damaged by abuse. 'It's permanent because we aim to build a house that will be there for generations as a sanctuary to safeguard these people who are on the run, from situations which are dangerous and life-threatening.' After the 10,946 bricks were laid, an all-female team of decorators added the finishing touches to the property to make it a true home for those seeking refuge. Every new family will receive a welcome pack with a variety of items such as essential toiletries. Children will also receive new toys and books to help them settle in. To help the house feel more welcoming, the team used bright, airy colours to help 'ignite that feeling of wellbeing, freedom and moving on'. Refuge staff will provide emotional support and legal advice to the families, and will aid women with safety preparations, budgeting, debt planning, benefits applications and finding nurseries and schools. As the house will see many survivors pass through it, Refuge will carry out maintenance and a deep clean between each family. The Independent's Brick by Brick campaign was launched in September 2024 in response to the UK's domestic abuse crisis. Thousands of women across the UK face danger in their own homes, but a woman is turned away from a refuge every two hours due to a lack of space. The Independent heard testimony from a range of survivors, including women who were beaten and lost children, friends and jobs.
