A mosque leader from Brighton, who made headlines a few years ago because of his quest to retrieve his sons from ISIS, has been accused of physical assault during an alleged attempt to exorcise a woman of her demons.
Abubaker Deghayes, 50, is being sued by an unnamed woman who claims he dislocated her shoulder. The woman also alleged that Deghayes intimidated her after she reported him to the police.
"He made me fall onto the floor from the sofa using his hands," the woman said in her statement. "He said he wanted the demon to come out because that was what was upsetting me."
The incident is alleged to have happened at the woman's place of residence in May 2017. She immediately called for an ambulance after Deghayes left but it is reported that she told doctors she had injured herself from a fall.
In October, Deghayes apparently returned to her flat but she refused to open the door for him and instead called the police.
In November, Deghayes denied the woman's claim in court but he was charged with bodily harm. The courts determined that he must not have any contact with the case witnesses but he is accused of violating the terms of his by allegedly confronting the woman's brother and threatened to kill her. The courts charged Deghayes with witness intimidation, which he has also denied.
"My day is spent usually in going to the mosque, calling in the tenants, socializing, visiting the hospital chaplains or mosque to see if there's any people to help," the defendant, who also works in property, said according to the Daily Mail.
In 2015, Deghayes flew to Syria via Libya in an attempt to rescue his son Amer from the ISIS, according to The Guardian newspaper. His other two sons -- Jaffar and Abdullah – died fighting with the terrorist group against the Syrian government.
