Kurdish man, 24, 'raped woman in barbershop backroom after offering her a job', court hears

Get your news delivered straight to you by 7am - sign up to our new Morning Mail newsletter for FREE See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 14:49 EDT, 17 August 2026 | Updated: 14:49 EDT, 17 August 2026 A Kurdish migrant allegedly raped a woman in the backroom of a barbershop after offering her a job, a court has heard.Jowad Haji, 24, reportedly winked at the alleged victim and commented on her body before attacking her at Barberia, Stratford-upon-Avon, in January of this year.Warwick Crown Court heard on Monday that Haji, of Park Street in Coventry, offered the woman - who can't be named for legal reasons - a job after she informed him she was unemployed. Simon Hunka, prosecuting, told jurors the woman went to the barbershop accompanied by a friend, who left shortly thereafter. It was then, Mr Hunka claimed, Haji remarked on the size of the woman's breasts and bottom, and called her a 'pretty girl' when he offered to pay her £100 to £150 per day at the shop. He said: '(The alleged victim) waited while Mr Haji worked. She noticed him winking at her. Then the haircut he was performing finished which left the two of them alone.'She sensed at that point the air changed, that she felt like prey. That's how she described it to the police.'Mr Hunka said the woman followed Haji to the shop's back room to sign paperwork, where he reportedly: 'Beckoned her closer, saying 'you are sad' or 'you look sad, you should come closer'. Kurdish migrant Jowad Haji is on trial at Warwick Crown Court after allegedly raping a woman in the backroom of a barbershop 'He then took hold of her hands, pulled her towards him and put his arms around her.'When she tried to push him away, he trapped her arms. He put her wrists together with one hand and put the other hand on her throat, holding her firmly while he tried to kiss her.'The prosecutor claimed the woman resisted, but that Haji allegedly 'responded by grabbing her even more tightly' before kissing her, inappropriately touching her, raping her and trying to rape her for a second time.He told the court Haji only stopped his alleged attack when the woman's friend returned to the shop.Following the incident, the alleged victim was reportedly 'trying not to be sick,' was crying and shaking, and wanted to 'burn her clothes'. She then went to the police in the weeks that followed and Haji was arrested. Haji denied the allegations against him and told police they had kissed consensually on a few previous occasions but 'things never progressed beyond kissing'.Mr Hunka added: 'Mr Haji (is) saying they were in fact much closer than (the alleged victim) would say, that they simply engaged in something they had done before – a consensual kiss that (the woman) instigated.' Haji, who was assisted by a Kurdish interpreter in court, is charged with rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, assault by penetration and intentional strangulation in relation to the incident.He denies the charges against him.The trial, which is expected to last four days, continues.