Terror plotter's wife tells court of abuse

The wife of a terrorist plotter felt her identity was being "erased" at the hands of an abusive husband and his strict Muslim family, a British court heard yesterday.

Cossor Ali, who is accused of failing to pass on information about her husband's plans to blow up transatlantic jets, told jurors that on one occasion he hit her so hard that imprints of his fingers were left on her face.

She also said that Abdulla Ahmed Ali - who was convicted over his terrorist plot in September last year - forced her to wear a veil, even giving her a "love bite" on the cheek so she "wouldn't forget" to cover her face.

The 28-year-old appeared at Inner London Crown Court dressed in a head scarf but no veil. She told the court that she grew up in a moderate household in Walthamstow, east London, where her father would instill in his four daughters pride in his adopted country.

"He liked Britain a lot. He was proud that we were British and encouraged us to be British and be involved in society," she said.

After school she began studying midwifery, but eventually gave up the course to concentrate on her job working as a saleswoman at clothing retailer Next in London's Oxford Street. But the jury heard that her life changed after she married Mr Ali in July 2003.

After the wedding she moved into her husband's family home, an event that she said was a "culture shock" for her.

"There was no TV, they weren't allowed to watch TV, or listen to music or watch films, or go to the cinema," she told the court.

Before long she was being discouraged from visiting her own family especially after turning up to her brother-in-law's barbecue five minutes late. Mrs Ali said that her mother-in-law warned her that now she had married her son she "belong to that family". The court heard that Cossor Ali was told not to wear western clothes and that she must cover her face. Her husband would chastise her for failing to wear a veil.

"On one occasion he gave me a love bite on my face. I tried to get away and asked him why he did it. He said with that mark on your face, I wouldn't forget to wear the veil."

The defendant said she found the transition from her family to her husband's "extremely, extremely difficult".

"I felt like my whole identity was being erased," she told the court.

Jurors also heard that she felt "rejected, dejected, incompetent and unworthy" by her husband's attempts to put her down. He would tell her she was "fat" and that the only reason he married her was because "he felt sorry for me", Cossor Ali said.

He also spoke, quite soon after the marriage, of taking a second bride who would teach Mrs Ali how to be a "good wife".

The court heard how the defendant was made to feel at fault after the death of her premature baby, who died after nearly a month in intensive care.

Her concerns about Mr Ali having a second wife were heightened when, after being taken to Pakistan, he disappeared for more than a month without getting in contact.