Sussex student pleads guilty to assaulting his girlfriend

On July 15th, Sami Alsaadi, a Sussex Biology student, went to wait for his girlfriend outside Shoosh nightclub for three hours.

Alsaadi, 25, and his girlfriend, Maryam Pour, argued on the way to the bus stop, with him pushing her to the floor.

They eventually got on a bus home and Maryam told Sami she didn't want to be in a relationship anymore. At this point he became furious at the idea she might meet up with another man.

At Sami's student accommodation in Northfields, he tried to strangle his 20-year-old girlfriend, covering her mouth to stop people from hearing her screams for help. A security guard witnessed Sami dragging the young woman by her hair and called the police, resulting in his arrest.

Following this incident on August 2nd, Alsaadi caused a scene in Pizza King takeaway as he shouted at Maryam in an argument over pizza toppings. A stranger tried to calm a drunk Alsaadi down, to which he responded by asking the stranger, "why do you talk to my girlfriend?"

Nicole Lodge, the defence lawyer for Sami Alsaadi, said in court her client is hoping to do a PhD and that if he was given a prison sentence he would be "cut off" from his Saudi Arabian family.

Lodge also defended her client arguing that he had developed a drinking problem after he moved from Manchester to Brighton last year.

Sami Alsaadi pleaded guilty to three counts of assault by beating and was given a 24-month community order. He must pay £85 to costs and an £85 victim surcharge along with 100 hours of unpaid work.

Magistrate Nigel Peacock told Alsaadi: “You are a young man with obviously a very bright academic career ahead of you. We feel certain if you take this opportunity we will not see you in court again. Please do not let us down.”

If you are in an abusive relationship you can contact Victim Support on 08 08 16 89 111 for support and information. Please call 999 in an emergency.