Mayo restauranter jailed for assaulting his wife
Judge Eoin Garavan commends victim for contacting gardaí after she was assaulted by her husband in the family home
A Judge warned a man convicted of assaulting his former wife that he hopes he has learned his lesson and not to continue to treat women with violence.
Judge Eoin Garavan made the comments at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court when sentencing Mohammad Ahmed (49) of Ellison Street, Castlebar to eleven months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife at the family home at Cois Abhainn, Castlebar on March 8, 2024.
The facts in the case were outlined to the court in March and Judge Garavan was informed that Mr Ahmed had been drinking that day and had dragged his wife by the fair. He also punched her and put his hand around her neck.
On the day of the offence, Mr Ahmed's wife had complained to her husband for drinking as it was considered a holy day in the muslim calendar.
Mr Ahmed and his wife had been married for 20 years and the court was informed that eight domestic order incidents had been reported since 2022 and at the time of the assault he had been serving a suspended prison sentence for a similar offence.
In March, Judge Garavan remanded Mr Ahmed in custody for sentencing in July but because of the current legal aid dispute, the case was not finalised.
Mr Ahmed, a Bangladeshi national has been living in Ireland since 1999 and was the owner of the Tusli Indian Restaurant in Castlebar. He suffered severe injuries to his hands in an explosion in the restaurant in 2025.
Mr Diarmuid Connolly, counsel for Mr Ahmed explained to the court that as well as the injuries from the explosion, his client suffers from diabetes and ill-health and is on 22 tablets a day. He said that he was an enhanced prisoner since he was remanded in custody but due to his limited English, he feels isolated in custody.
Mr Connolly added that his client is no longer drinking and has provided a hair follicle test to show he is clean of alcohol and of other illegal drugs. He also said that Mr Almed has completed education programmes while in prison and has learned his lesson
Members of Mr Ahmed's family were in court and Mr Connolly said they were 'aching' to be reunited with their father and asked Judge Garavan to show clemency.
In sentencing Mr Ahmed, Judge Garavan said this was a very serious matter given that the defendant was serving a suspended sentence for a similar offence against his wife.
He praised the victim for her courage in contacting the gardaí saying he understood how difficult the situation may have been for her and hoped that life improves for her and her family.
Due to the seriousness of the charge, Judge Garavan said that the headline sentence was one of 28 months but reduced it to 20 months given the mitigating factors involved.
Judge Garavan accepted that Mr Ahmed had used his time in prison very well and suspended the final nine months of the sentence for a two year period and ordered that he come under the supervision of the Probation Service for one year post release.
Judge Garavan also back dated the sentence to when Mr Ahmed entered custody on March 10 and commented that this will mean he will likely be released before Christmas.
He told Mr Ahmed that he will soon be 50 and hopes he has learned a lesson and treats women and those who are weaker than him in a non violent manner in the future.