Pregnant Woman Jumps from Balcony to Escape Violent Husband in French Domestic Abuse Case

Nabil Soualah is known to the police. This man with a long criminal record had been in pre-trial detention since February 26, after requesting a delay to prepare his defense, reports L’Indépendant. The defendant appeared on Thursday for acts of domestic violence. These events had taken place on the night of February 22 to 23 in Alet-les-Bains. Nabil had pushed and slapped his six-month pregnant partner. Worse, he had threatened to kill her several times if she were to leave the home. An untenable situation for the young woman. She had then decided to jump from the first-floor balcony to flee. She found refuge at a friend’s house. In the aftermath, the defendant had gotten into his partner’s car to look for her. He had also taken the bank card of the mother of his future son.

Nabil had committed other acts. These were malicious phone calls made between September 12 and 30, 2020 in Limoux. The prosecution notes four offenses. At the bar, the defendant defends himself: "I never touched her, there was no shoving. It’s even me who caught her when she was about to fall down the stairs. [...] I never told her I would kill her if she left, never in my life! I never hurt this woman... I lost everything with her." He says he did not steal his partner’s car. "It’s not theft, I use it every day. It’s not her who takes care of the maintenance! Here, I just changed the pads..."

Nabil was under a suspended sentence with probation for similar acts, and had been banned from contacting his partner. According to Céline Colombo, the victim’s lawyer, the couple has had a "toxic relationship" for five years. "In a couple, there are two of us, and it’s still good form to take responsibility for one’s share. You don’t jump off a balcony pregnant if you’re not terrified!" For his part, Sébastien Leguay, the defense lawyer, evokes the complexity of this case, "where it is, in reality, a relationship of dependence on each other. There is great confusion of feelings on both sides." "We are not in the framework of a submission of Madame by Monsieur!" he stressed.

The verdict is in: Nabil gets 9 months in prison. The previous suspended sentence was revoked to the tune of three months as the prosecution had requested. No conviction for the theft of the car. The defendant is detained in the remand prison.