Court hears allegations of years of abuse of deaf girl

The alleged victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the jury that she endured almost a decade of alleged abuse, after being trafficked into the UK from Pakistan in 2000 when she was 10 years old. Her exact age now is not known.

The couple accused of abusing her are Illyas Ashar, 83, and his wife Tallat Ashar, 66, of Cromwell Road, Eccles, Salford, Greater Manchester. They both deny charges of false imprisonment, human trafficking, sexual offences, violence and benefit fraud.

Police interviews

The jury was played the first two of 14-hour video police interviews with the woman, who communicated via an interpreter and sign language.

She said: "I was sad and weak because I was working so hard. They used to hit me from being very, very little, all the time. I used to cook and clean for hours and hours.

"She (Tallat Ashar) used to hit me with her ring, she used to hit me in the face and cut my face with her ring. She would scratch me. She would open the door then push me in the cellar and lock the door. I was there for a long, long time. I could not get out."

On the video the police officer showed her a photo of Ilyas Ashar to which the girl replied: "He's the old man. He's bad. He's the one who had sex with me."

Shown a photo of Tallat Ashar, she said: "That's the woman who used to hit and beat me. All through my life she's been hitting me."

The Ashars both deny two counts of human trafficking into the UK for exploitation and a single count of false imprisonment.

Illyas Ashar also denies 12 counts of rape, while Tallat Ashar denies one count of sexual assault and unlawful wounding. The couple deny charges of benefit fraud along with their daughter, Faaiza, 44.