Mohammed Qazi has been jailed
Mohammed Qazi has been jailed(Image: West Yorkshire Police)
A man who strangled his wife on their wedding anniversary has been put behind bars.
Mohammed Qazi, 46, and his wife had separated, and he had been made the subject of a non-molestation order after it “didn’t end well,” Leeds Crown Court heard on Tuesday. Prosecutor Oliver Crowson said: “The relationship ended in September 2023 and it didn’t end well at all. So bad it was that she got a protective order. A non-molestation order was granted.
“That was finalised and it had a long list of prohibitions to prevent him from contacting her. The first charge represents him repeatedly ignoring the terms of that order. Over a long period of time he used at least three mobile phones, mostly to badger her into taking him back and letting him inside the family home.
“He also tried to use her family and friends to make her speak to him. All of this was in breach of the order and all of this started almost immediately. He also tried to go through social media channels and she had to block him there as well.”
The court heard on November 10, 2023, the woman received a call from her father telling her Qazi, of no fixed abode, who now resides at HMP Leeds, was on his way to her. Five minutes later, the got a notification from her video doorbell and saw him standing at her gates. Qazi was arrested at that point but not prosecuted.
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Mr Crowson said: “In fact, some significant time went by and tensions started to calm. She was worn down by guilt about him not seeing his children. She will be unfairly blaming herself but she did allow some contact. This culminated in the second offence on the 25th of May 2025. It should have been their 18th wedding anniversary and he tried again to rekindle the relationship, however, she was done and told him she wanted to get a divorce and end it once and for all.
“That angered the defendant and it went quickly from the argument to strangulation. He attacked her, pushing her onto the bed first by her arms and then moved his hands to her neck and squeezed her neck hard. She was trapped and truly believed it was going to be the end of her life.”
The court heard Qazi only stopped due to the threat of police involvement. He went on to admit intentional strangulation and breach of a non-molestation order. The woman suffered bruising to her neck and other parts of her body and an injury to her carotid arteryin her neck.
Mr Crowson said: “In her victim impact statement she describes reliving the strangulation and believing that she was going to die. She describes this continuing anxiety that the danger could return at any moment. This of course, because it was her wedding anniversary, has changed the way she will view that day forever. It has affected her sleep and now she wakes during the night frequently.”
Mitigating, Jim Littlehales told the court Qazi has been remanded into custody since July this year and has served the equivalent of a year-long sentence. He said: “He understands the relationship is at an end and he doesn’t intend to repeat his conduct.”
Her Honour Judge Rayfield jailed Qazi for 32 months and told him: “You showed no conduct at all for that court order, breaching it repeatedly over the next few months. First of all by persistently and repeatedly contacting her by telephone and social media. Then ultimately attending her home where she was entitled to feel safe.
“You achieved your aim though because she did feel worn down by the persistent contact…As observed by the author of your pre-sentence report, this type of assault is designed to exert power and strength over your victim. She still relives it all these months later. She does not feel safe. She is anxious and she wakes in the night. The entire events have affected her relationship with family and friends such as she is utterly isolated.”
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