Mum trapped in Sudan without her kids after husband cancelled her visa, court hears

A father who allegedly abandoned his wife overseas before returning to Australia with their young children is accused of secretly cancelling her partner visa in the first case of exit trafficking to be prosecuted in Victoria.

A trial in the County Court of Victoria on Thursday heard that Mohamed Ahmed Omer, 52, was living in Australia when he partnered with his Sudan-born wife in an arranged marriage and moved her to Melbourne in 2012.

Following the birth of their first child, a girl, crown prosecutor John Saunders said Omer allegedly became violent and threatening towards his wife at their Docklands home.

In September 2014, when their second child, a boy, was six months old the family travelled to Sudan for a family holiday.

Saunders said the wife was unaware that Omer had withdrawn his support for her partner visa months earlier.

Soon after Omer returned to Australia with the couple’s young children, leaving his wife behind.

The jury was told the woman was unable to return to the country for more than 16 months as she was unable to obtain a new visa until February 2016.

“[The complainant] would not have left Australia if she knew the truth about her visa and residency status,” Saunders said.

The court heard the Australian Federal Police’s human trafficking team later launched an investigation, with the woman telling officers that during their marriage she was prevented from having a phone, largely kept at home and exposed to violence.