A Libyan man who is facing proceedings for allegedly raping and beating an Italian woman with whom he had an affair in Malta, was warned by a court on Monday to not to even look at the woman.

Inspector Lara Butters told the court that the victim had filed a report last May when an argument had broken out with the accused, Ali S. Ali Saad, 38.

The woman had told the police that she had been receiving messages and phone calls from Ali Saad before he finally turned up at her apartment and demanded to know why there was another man there. As a row broke out between the estranged couple, Ali Saad allegedly pushed her onto the sofa and beat her, causing her slight injuries.

In an attempt to find a way out of the situation, the woman convinced him to go with her to a pizzeria.

Once there, she locked herself inside a bathroom and dialled the police for help.

The inspector said the woman had later told investigators how she had been raped by the alleged aggressor on one occasion, some four months previously, while in his car at Baħar ic-Cagħaq.

The couple had had an affair, but the accused kept harassing her with messages, causing her to experience panic attacks.

Mr Ali Saad denied the charges, claiming that the woman’s injuries were self-inflicted.

As for the alleged rape, he said that he had found the woman naked in his car upon returning to the vehicle after leaving to buy water.

Inspector Butters exhibited a number of chat logs from Viber and Facebook between the accused and the alleged victim, which showed that the man just would not give up.

At the end of the sitting, Magistrate Ian Farrugia issued a protection order in favour of the woman, warning the accused not to approach her in any way.

“This is not a joke. It’s a court order and you cannot approach her,” said the magistrate, adding that if the two walked past each other “and he gives her so much as a bad look, I will have him arrested.”