Barber accused of raping woman in Stratford-upon-Avon shop denies doing anything ‘bad’ to her
Jowad Haji, 24, is accussed of raping the woman in a Stratford-upon-Avon barbershop after offering her a job there
Last updated 20th Aug 2026
A Kurdish barber accused of raping a woman in a shop has denied doing anything “bad” to the alleged victim, telling a jury: “I didn’t sexually assault her.”
Jowad Haji, 24, is accused of making the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, feel like “prey” when he allegedly raped her in a Stratford-upon-Avon barbershop after offering her a job there, Warwick Crown Court heard.
Haji, of Park Street, Coventry, denies rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, assault by penetration and intentional strangulation in relation to the incident.
Prosecutors allege Haji winked at the woman and made remarks about her body before he attacked her in the back room of Barberia in January this year.
As he took to the witness box for a second day, assisted by a Kurdish interpreter, the Iraqi national denied lying about having a “close relationship” with the alleged woman and said he did not sexually assault her.
Haji told the court he had met the woman several times and had previously hugged and kissed her, but said on the day of the alleged attack she had followed him to the back of the barbershop when he went to get a drink and had hugged him from behind, telling him she had missed him.
He said the pair kissed until the woman’s friend returned to the shop and they left, saying goodbye to him on the way out.
During cross-examination, prosecution counsel Simon Hunka accused Haji of making up a “pack of lies” when he was interviewed by police after he was arrested on February 14, and said the defendant had closed the door of the barbershop before he attacked the alleged victim.
“You shut it yourself, didn’t you, because you wanted to take her out of sight behind the wall at the back,” Mr Hunka said.
“You wanted no-one to hear her, should she raise her voice.”
The defendant replied: “This is not correct, whatever she says, speaks, her voice would be heard.”
Haji also denied that the woman went to the back of the shop with him to sign paperwork after offering her a job.
He said: “This is not correct, my writing is not good enough and this is not my shop, the shop has owner.”
Mr Hunka said: “I’m not suggesting there was any paperwork, you were telling her that is what you wanted her to do.
“You physically overpowered her then, didn’t you? You held her tightly around her throat, didn’t you?”
Haji replied: “Opposite me, a busy place. How could I assault a girl in such a place?”
He added: “I didn’t shut the door and there is no curtain and there is mirrors, people can see.
“I went to get a drink, I didn’t grab her, I didn’t force her to come with me.”
Haji also said it was “not correct” that he grabbed the woman’s hair and forced her into sexual activity with him until he was interrupted by her friend returning to the shop.
“You made up that you had a close relationship,” Mr Hunka said.
Haji replied: “If we were not close friends, how did she keep visiting me? If I knew something would happen to me later, I would record every second.”
Mr Hunka said: “The only time there was anything that could be described as kissing was when you were assaulting her.”
The defendant said: “I didn’t sexually assault her.”
Asked if it was his account that he had always been “perfectly nice and friendly” to the woman, Haji said: “Yes, correct, I was nice to her, I would never in my life do something wrong.”
Mr Hunka asked: “She decided to call you a rapist falsely? She has come to the crown court for no good reason at all?”.
Haji said: “I don’t know what to say to you, I didn’t do anything bad to her, if I did something bad to her, why didn’t (her friend) see something on her neck or anything?
“Woman has very sensitive skin if you touch it strongly it will leave a mark, the skin colour would be different.”
The trial continues.