A man who repeatedly raped and physically assaulted a woman he knew in Southwark has been jailed following an investigation by Met detectives.

Detectives worked diligently to secure this conviction by obtaining digital and medical evidence to present in court, as the victim-survivor became too terrified to give her evidence.

Ahmedshah Naizi, 20, of no fixed address was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday, 19 October after been found guilty of four counts of rape, one count of intentional suffocation, one count of actual bodily harm, one count of assault by battery, and one count of coercive and controlling behaviour.

Detective Constable Michelle Elisio, from the Met’s Specialist Crime team, who carried out the investigation, said: “I would like to commend the courage and strength of the woman in reporting these offences to police and hope that she feels some comfort knowing her attacker is now behind bars.

“We worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure Naizi received this sentence, despite instilling so much fear in his victim that she didn’t feel able to speak in court.

“I hope Naizi’s conviction sends a powerful message to others who feel trapped in a cycle of violence in an abusive relationship; please contact police – we have specially trained officers who will support you, investigate the allegations with the aim of putting those responsible before the courts.”

He raped the woman on four occasions in violent circumstances, on one occasion strangling her and on another holding a pillow over her face.

Throughout their relationship, Naizi controlled her everyday tasks. He would not allow her to collect a prescription without him, controlled her finances as well as prevented her from seeing friends and family. If she attempted to leave the address, he would berate her or physically assault her by twisting her arms and legs, slapping and punching her and strangling her.

When the victim-survivor suffered a miscarriage, Naizi refused to let her seek medical care.

She bravely managed to secretly film some of the abuse, which was used as evidence in the trial. There was also digital phone evidence including a video, believed to have been filmed by Naizi of the woman unconscious and Naizi throwing water on her face to wake her up.

Specialist officers safeguarded the woman after she sort support from an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA). She provided two victim interviews during which she explained her abuse at the hands of Naizi. On a later date she withdrew her allegation showing the complexity and sensitivity of the case and the challenges of being able to investigate the crimes to secure a sentence.

PC Alice Pyne, a specialist officer supporting the victim-survivor throughout this investigation, said: “We fully understood why the victim-survivor withdrew her statement. We did not let this deter us, we continued to work tirelessly to ensure this man would never be able to harm her again and to give her all the support that she needed.

“I hope this investigation demonstrates the work we will do to put sexual offence perpetrators behind bars.”

Everyone has the right to feel safe in London and officers and staff continue to work every day with communities and our partners to make London safer so everyone can go about their daily lives without fear.

If you have been a victim of sexual assault or rape or you have information about an offender, contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency – there are specially trained officers who will listen and investigate where needed.

Further information, including details of agencies and charities that can offer support can be found on our website.

As part of A New Met for London plan, the Met is doing more to build trust and support our London’s communities with issues that impact them the most. The Met is putting more people and focus into the team’s protecting women and children from violence and going after predatory men who commit those crimes. To read more about our plans to tackle violence against women and girls read A New Met for London.