An alleged human trafficker has lost his bid to pause his fight against allegations he stranded his wife in Pakistan without her passport.
Ali Rahimi allegedly deceived his wife by telling her they were going to visit her family in Pakistan in July 2023 when he intended to leave her overseas and return without her.
The 31-year-old and his wife flew to Afghanistan for a holiday and then travelled to Pakistan, Penrith District Court was told on Thursday.
She didn’t see her passport again after Mr Rahimi took possession of it to arrange visas, according to prosecutors.
Months later, she learned he had travelled back to Australia without her.
Rahimi has pleaded not guilty to a charge of deceiving a person to obtain their compliance regarding exit from the country.
He made an application for the proceedings to be stayed earlier this year after a video emerged showing a person who appeared to be in possession of his wife’s passport.
His lawyer argued the person, who lives in Afghanistan, would be a crucial witness who would help understand the movement of the passport at issue.
But the crown prosecutor emphasised issues with taking statements from someone in Afghanistan and verifying his identity.
The proposed witness had provided inconsistent accounts about how he came to be in possession of the passport and had been deemed unreliable by the crown, Judge Peter Krisenthal said.
He said those factors, along with the political situation in Afghanistan and the “less than fulsome” responses of the potential witness would create difficulty for the proceedings.
“(They) would create an almost insurmountable burden for the crown … such that a temporary stay would likely become a permanent stay,” Judge Krisenthal said.
He also noted there had been significant conversations between Mr Rahimi and his estranged wife after he returned to Australia in which he denied having her passport.
“Your passport isn’t with me, you stupid,” he told his wife in one message.
“How many times can I tell you I don’t have it?” read another.
At no stage did he tell his wife that the passports were with the proposed witness, the judge said.
He told the court he wasn’t persuaded the proposed witness was crucial to determine whether Mr Rahimi intended to strand his wife overseas.
Judge Krisenthal refused the application and adjourned the matter until November 16, when it will be given a trial date.
If convicted of the human trafficking offence, Mr Rahimi faces a maximum penalty of 12 years’ imprisonment.
