How Birmingham Man was Caught Abusing Wife

Rayan Mughal was jailed for five years and 10 months after repeatedly beating his wife, Mariyyah Raees, at their Birmingham flat.

The 27-year-old from Sparkbrook pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and single offences of inflicting grievous bodily harm, strangulation and threats to kill.

He was also given a seven-year restraining order banning him from contacting Ms Raees.

The couple had been together for three years and had an Islamic marriage, with prosecutors describing their relationship as “toxic”.

Mughal’s final attack on October 8, 2025, was recorded on Ms Raees’ phone and included him threatening to kill her.

‘I Wanted to Live’

Ms Raees said she believed Mughal would eventually kill her.

The court heard that the October attack was the final straw after a series of assaults during their relationship.

Mughal bashed Ms Raees’ head against a sofa, grabbed her by the throat and repeatedly punched her.

While she lay frightened, Ms Raees managed to start recording the attack on her phone.

The footage, which was played in court, captured Mughal threatening to murder her.

He was heard saying:

“I’m going to f****** murder you, do you understand me? You f****** s***, I’m going to f****** murder you.”

Ms Raees could be heard crying and seemingly screaming in pain during the recording.

Mughal continued: ” F*** you, you deserve to get cheated on, do you understand?

“You deserve to get cheated on you f****** s***, you deserve it, you f****** b****, no-one will love you, no-one would f****** love you.”

Photographs showing red marks on Ms Raees’ neck and bruises on her body were submitted to the court.

Prosecutors also submitted an X-ray showing the injury to her thumb.

Speaking from the witness box, Ms Raees said: “Today I stand before you in fear and worry of the release of Rayan Mughal.

“On October 8, 2025, Rayan beat me for the last time. A beating so brutal and dehumanising that I finally found the strength to call the police and put an end to it.

“He would have killed me. If I hadn’t called my mom and she turned up, he would have killed me.

“Stripped completely naked, taking blows to my body while Rayan was telling me he was going to murder me, I thought that was it, this is the day I lose my life to this man. I wanted to live.

“I can’t stress enough that this man would have killed me one day.”

Ms Raees was unable to return to her flat for three weeks following the attack.

Nearly a year later, she said she was still struggling with the effects of the abuse, including difficulty sleeping, panic attacks and depression.

She also described regularly experiencing head pain, which she attributed to the repeated occasions when Mughal restricted her breathing by clasping his hands around her neck.

She added: “There was never any calm; it was always a waiting game until the next time and with every next time that came, the violence became worse, became more dehumanising, more demonic.

“I have to start my life over but it’s better than being found dead in my flat because you couldn’t control your disgusting anger.”

Three Attacks before Police were Called

Prosecutor Sarah Allen told the court that Mughal was controlling and was “in the habit of assaulting and being deeply unpleasant” to his wife.

She said the abuse included three significant incidents, beginning with an attack on March 20, 2025.

Mughal started an argument with Ms Raees about what she was wearing before strangling her on and off for 10 minutes and repeatedly punching her.

Ms Allen said: “She didn’t report this attack to the police because she was frightened of what he would do.

“He was begging her not to report it. She says this was the normal thing for him to say to her.

“On occasion he would threaten to hurt himself in order to gain an advantage.”

On May 26, Ms Raees was at home with a friend when Mughal called her to the bedroom. She immediately knew she was going to be attacked, the court heard.

Mughal slapped her and threatened to smash a bottle over her head before grabbing her thumb and breaking it.

He then dragged her into the bedroom and repeatedly hit her, stopping only when her friend screamed at him.

The third attack was the October 8 incident that led Ms Raees to contact police.

Mughal initially denied a string of offences but pleaded guilty to five offences before he was due to stand trial.

The remaining charges, including one of controlling and coercive behaviour, were ordered to lie on the file.

Defending Mughal, Emily Waggott said he was “extremely remorseful”.

She revealed: “He’s bisexual.

“He came out to his partner. It is something not readily accepted in his culture. It’s rather taboo.

“He was made to feel significant shame because of that.

“It was difficult for him and was a factor that overwhelmed him.

“He knows he should not have reacted like that, knows it’s not an excuse but it was certainly a trigger.”

The court heard that Mughal had previously excelled in education, obtained a university degree and had a job waiting for him at his father’s business after his release.

More than 30 people had also submitted positive character references.

The court was told Mughal had taken courses in prison and obtained supportive roles helping other inmates.

Appearing by video link from HMP Birmingham, Mughal kept his head bowed as Ms Raees delivered her victim impact statement.

She told him: “I despise you. You’re evil. You’re dangerous.

“You would have killed me one day and my son would have been left without a mom; my mom would have lost a daughter.

“I won’t let you be the reason another woman goes through this or loses her life because of you.

“This is my final message to you. I hope you feel what it’s like to be stripped of everything, like you did to me.

“I hope you live with regret and it eats you up every day.

“I will never understand what you did and I’m glad I don’t understand because you’re f***** in the head, you’re evil to the core.

“You deserve to be where you are today. You should be ashamed of yourself.”