Wife-beater is spared prison after ‘cricket career’ claims
A WIFE-BEATER avoided jail after claiming he was on the verge of joining a top cricket team, it has been revealed.
Mustafa Bashir, 34, admitted branding his wife a “slag”, hitting her with his cricket bat, making her drink bleach and ordering her to “kill herself” by swallowing pills.
But despite his confession Judge Richard Mansell allowed him to walk free after lawyers said jailing him would block his chance to land a place with former county champions Leicestershire.
But the cricket club yesterday denied ever offering Bashir a contract.
A club statement said: “Any references to Mustafa Bashir signing or being approached to sign for Leicestershire are completely false.
“The club have never spoken to Mustafa Bashir or an agent, nor offered a contract to the player.”
Judge Mansell gave Bashir an 18-month suspended sentence, ordered him to attend a workshop on “building better relationships” and pay £1,000 costs.
The judge also told Manchester Crown Court he was “not convinced” Bashir’s wife Fakhara Karim, 33, was “a vulnerable person”.
Last night domestic violence charity Refuge blasted the ruling.
Ignorance
The charity’s chief executive Sandra Horley said: “Judge Mansell’s comments show a shocking ignorance around the impact of domestic violence.
“What a woman does for a job, her level of education or the number of friends she has makes no difference.
“Domestic violence is a devastating crime that has severe and long-lasting impacts. A domestic abuse perpetrator’s employment prospects should make no difference either.”
At a hearing last week the court was told how the pair met in their native Pakistan and married in 2013 but Bashir, of Oldham, was a “controlling and dominating” husband.
In April 2014 the couple rowed about Bashir travelling to the Netherlands on a cricket tour.
Prosecutor Roger Brown said: “He grabbed her neck and at one point picked up a knife. He took her into the bathroom, grabbed a bottle of bleach and made her drink the bleach so she would kill herself. She spat that out. Then he gave her tablets and told her to take them. Again she was unable to swallow them.
“He said to her ‘I want you to kill yourself’.”
The stormy marriage continued but on New Year’s Eve 2014 he snapped again.
Mr Brown added: “He slapped her so hard she fell on the floor Under fire... Judge Richard Mansell and lost consciousness. He grabbed her hands and started bending her fingers back to break them. “The next thing she remembers is waking up on her bed but he called her a ‘slag’ and strangled her until she was struggling to breathe. He grabbed a cricket bat and hit her with it.” Bashir admitted assault but his lawyer said if spared prison he would be signed by Leicestershire. Hugh McKee, defending, said: “He was about to sign the contract when he was arrested.” Judge Mansell told Bashir: “You are sorry for the position you find yourself in and have employment prospects of being employed in cricket for Leicestershire.” Last night the Crown Prosecution Service said it was looking into whether Bashir “misled” the court with his cricket job claims. Experts claim misleading a judge in sentencing could see the defendant returning to court to be resentenced.