'Lifting the shame that was never mine to carry' - alleged victim of Al Fayed associate

A woman identified as Joanna Brittan alleges she was raped and trafficked by Ahmed Obaidly, a UAE diplomat, and that Obaidly trafficked her to Mohamed Al Fayed dating back to 1990. She reported multiple rapes and trafficking to police in 2017 and has now had her case reviewed through the National Referral Mechanism, the government system for identifying potential victims of modern slavery. She waived anonymity and spoke publicly to encourage other women to come forward. Both Obaidly and Al Fayed have died. Brittan wants police to widen their investigation to examine whether others facilitated the abuse. A Metropolitan police investigation into people who may have facilitated or enabled Al Fayed’s offending is ongoing, and police urge anyone with information to contact them.

"A woman who says she was raped and trafficked by an associate of the businessman Mohamed Al Fayed has been identified as a possible victim of modern slavery. "It makes me feel really excited that I can finally lift the shame that was never mine to carry," Joanna Brittan says, almost a decade after first reporting the allegations to police. In 2017 she reported multiple rapes by Ahmed Obaidly, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) diplomat, and trafficking by the diplomat to Al Fayed dating back to 1990."

"Joanna, from Devon, has waived her right to anonymity and decided to speak publicly in the hope that other women who may have been abused will come forward. Both Obaidly and AlFayed have since died. Joanna now wants police to widen their investigation to examine whether others may have facilitated the abuse she alleges. "Obaidly and AlFayed should have come to justice," she says. "But if those who allowed it to happen are finally held accountable, then maybe something can still change.""

"A live investigation by the Metropolitan police into those who may have facilitated or enabled AlFayed's offending is continuing, and it is urging anyone with information to come forward. Joanna's referral comes amid broader scrutiny of allegations made against AlFayed and renewed calls for police to examine whether abuse took place within wider networks. In December 2017, Joanna walked into Totnes Police Station to report what she describes as "traumatic memories" from almost three decades earlier."

""I was absolutely terrified," she says. She claims she was threatened and told not to talk about what had happened to her but after watching a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary about Al Fayed she decided to go"

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