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A Look Back at October 2023)—It has been nearly a year since the chilling details of Alaur Rahman’s predatory behaviour first emerged, culminating in his conviction and a three-year and four-month prison sentence. Rahman, a 29-year-old Desi man of Bedford, was jailed on Thursday, October 12, 2023, for what police described as "abhorrent" domestic abuse and digital exploitation.
The case, widely reported at the time, saw Rahman—of Gifford Road in Bedford—plead guilty to a catalogue of serious offences, including blackmail, voyeurism, harassment, controlling and coercive behaviour, and threatening to disclose a private sexual film.
The court heard that Rahman secretly recorded a woman while she was showering, then used the deeply invasive, non-consensual footage to wage a campaign of abuse. His threats were ruthless and financially motivated: he demanded the victim pay him £2,000 or the video would be released. Even more disturbingly, Rahman escalated his threats by saying he would send people to torture the victim and her family if she failed to comply.
Bedfordshire Police’s specialist Emerald domestic abuse team, who investigated the case, released recorded calls where the victim repeatedly begged Rahman to leave her alone. The investigation officer at the time praised the victim's extraordinary courage, noting that Rahman’s actions demonstrated "red flags for abusive, controlling and dangerous behaviour."
Rahman's three-year, four-month sentence was coupled with an indefinite restraining order, a permanent measure put in place to protect the victim from any further contact from the British-Bangladeshi man. This case remains a definitive, painful example of how trust can be betrayed and technology weaponised in domestic abuse.
