A London chauffeur, who believed he was in a romantic relationship with a Qatari princess, has been sentenced to a 12-month neighborhood order and a 30-day rehabilitation exercise requirement by Westminster Magistrates’ Courtroom. Jihad Abousalah, 47, was discovered responsible of stalking Haya Al-Thani, a Qatari princess. The courtroom was instructed that Abousalah, employed as Al-Thani’s chauffeur, believed he was romantically concerned together with her.
Prosecutor David Burns detailed how Abousalah’s behaviour escalated, together with sending Al-Thani presents corresponding to a bracelet and flowers, in addition to notes wishing her a contented birthday. Whereas Al-Thani was in Doha, she started receiving many cellphone calls from him.
Abousalah additionally visited Al-Thani’s London residence, making an attempt to ship flowers to her by way of a member of her workers. His steady behaviour raised important concern, prompting Al-Thani to ask her husband, Mohamed Al-Thani, to rearrange for personal safety to make sure her security.
The courtroom heard that Al-Thani’s each day life was severely disrupted by Abousalah’s actions. She reported feeling unsafe in her own residence and expressed considerations about Abousalah’s information of her youngsters’s schedules.
The prosecutor, David Burns, mentioned, “She (Al-Thani) mentioned the entire incident brought on her alarm and misery. She has mentioned she couldn’t go about her regular day-to-day life. She feels she wants safety for herself and for her youngsters.”
The princess even incessantly seemed out of her home windows to make sure he was not close by, Burns added.
Defence counsel Sundeep Pankhania instructed the courtroom that Abousalah’s actions had been influenced by psychological sickness. He mentioned, “He (Abousalah) had an ill-formed view that he was in a relationship with the princess. He divorced his spouse as a result of he genuinely held that perception.”
Decide Louisa Cieciora acknowledged the affect of Abousalah’s psychological well being on his actions, saying, “Your accountability is considerably lowered by purpose of your psychological dysfunction.” However she additionally famous the “very critical misery” brought on to Al-Thani and her household. Recognising his regret, Cieciora sentenced Abousalah to a neighborhood order and mandated participation in rehabilitation actions.
A 3-year restraining order was issued, prohibiting Abousalah from contacting Al-Thani or her husband and barring him from London’s Hyde Park space.