“I was trying to avoid that because I don’t think they’re relevant to the kidnapping but I think the police knew their names,” Abusamha testified.
Abusamha said during the attack one of the offenders also tried to pull out his eye and bite off his lips.
Burgertory founder Hash Tayeh was called as a witness in the caseCredit: Nine
The assailants also allegedly broke his finger when he refused to turn over the passcode to his mobile phone, which was stolen along with his watch.
Abusamha said he was explicitly warned to “leave my job, drop my permanent residency application and leave the country”.
Abusamha said the rumours about his conduct had spread overseas to his sister.
“I think my sister was actually trying to see whether what they have done is justified – probably because we come from the same culture. She doesn’t believe what happened to me is right, but she just wanted to see actually whether the offender’s accusations against me are true,” he told the court.
”She asked me why they did it, and I said, like, they say I did 1, 2, 3, 4 to certain people, like, sort of harassment accusations.
“I think my private life is a private life, and I think I’ve not done anything wrong.”
Abusamha said in February he had been arrested and interviewed over a sexual assault allegation. He has not been charged.
“I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone in the community,” Abusamha said.
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Abusamha was cross-examined about what he might have told police about the motivation for the attack on him.
Abusamha told the court he called his boss and asked him to lock his work-related accounts because his phone had been stolen and the attackers had the passcode.
“I think the matter with my employment is irrelevant, in my opinion.”
The court also heard that after the alleged attack Abusamha texted Hashem Tayeh – the owner of the Burgertory chain and a political activist – asking for help in getting back his mobile phone and watch.
Questioning focused around whether Abusamha was offered or sought financial compensation from Tayeh or another man for not filing charges or dropping his complaint.
“I did not ask for money,” Abusamha testified. “Mr Tayeh was not involved in negotiating a deal. He did not offer anything.”
Tayeh denied offering $10,000 to Abusamha.
“No, but I did offer him money,” Tayeh said. “He told me that his wallet was taken and he had no money, he hadn’t eaten and he couldn’t afford to go home from the hospital. So I offered to buy him a kebab and to give him money until he was able to sort himself out. But that wasn’t in relation to dropping any complaints. It was just trying to help out another fellow human being.”
Allam has been charged with false imprisonment and assault offences. Sharab has been charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, armed robbery and making threats to kill.
The committal will continue in January.
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