Detectives are investigating claims that a man who received death threats because he was agitating to have Muslim women lift their veils while giving evidence has been bashed.
Anwar Sayed, who is standing trial for fraud in the West Australian District Court, had received death threats over the controversy which came to light on Tuesday when a Muslim female witness, known only as Tasneem, asked a judge to decide whether she had to wear her head-to-toe covering while giving evidence for the prosecution.
Mr Sayed was the director at the Muslim Ladies College of Australia in Perth’s southern suburbs, where Tasneem worked as a teacher for about 12 months. Mr Sayed has been charged with fraudulently obtaining up to $750,000 from state and federal governments by falsifying the number of students at the college.
Police have cordoned off an area near a solicitor’s office in suburban Leeming. It is believed Mr Sayed was assaulted after a confrontation early this morning.
Mr Sayed has been taken to Fremantle Hospital where he is reportedly in a stable condition. The extent of his injuries are not known.
Mr Sayed’s lawyer Mark Trowell has been arguing that it would be difficult to assess the witness if her face was covered, and has asked Judge Shauna Deane to decide whether the witness should be allowed to remain covered while in the witness box. The judge has reserved her decision.
Mr Trowell also told the court yesterday that Mr Sayed has been receiving death threats because other Muslims believed that his client wanted women to take off their veils.
“He has been accused of agitating to have Muslim women not wear the burqa or the nikab,” Mr Trowell told the court.
Tasneem said it was her decision to wear the burqa and she did so for religious and modesty reasons.
“It’s a religious thing and covering of the head is compulsory but covering of the face is something that certain women chose to do.
“I’d like to make it very clear that it’s not the men that have enforced this at all, it’s a personal choice and we lead a very normal active life just like everyone else.”