A former human rights lawyer has told a Perth court her husband, a prominent Perth doctor, pushed her to the ground and left her bleeding and screaming in pain during an argument over another woman.
Rabia Siddique said she was left with injuries to her wrist that required two surgeries after the incident, which happened at the couple's Mount Pleasant home in April last year, and remains in pain to this day.
Ms Siddique, a former terrorism and war crimes prosecutor, is married to Perth doctor Anthony Jenner Bell, who is on trial over the alleged assault of his wife.
Dr Bell has stood aside as the director of medical services at St John of God Midland Hospital while the legal proceedings occur.
Bruising, abrasions
The two give conflicting accounts of how Ms Siddique ended up on the floor, falling into a metal planter, which broke on impact, and slamming her hand down onto brick paving.
In his opening address, prosecutor Senior Sargent Trevor Atkins alleged Ms Siddique was pushed by Mr Bell with both of his hands to the ground.
The court heard Ms Siddique sustained bruising and abrasions over her arms, back and legs during the fall.
However Mr Bell's defence lawyer, Simon Frietag, told the court his client maintains Ms Siddique fell after grabbing the strap of his satchel while trying to stop him leaving and losing her balance.
He argued Ms Siddique sought to control Mr Bell by requiring him to leave a tracking app running on his phone at all times and the allegations occurred in the context of a relationship breakdown.
Mr Frietag put to Ms Siddique that by making these allegations, she was seeking to "destroy his client's career and future", something she strongly denied.
"I have nothing to gain by any of this," Ms Siddique told the court.
"I loved him and I can't believe that he did this to me, that he hurt me so badly."
Giving evidence on the first day of the trial, Ms Siddique told the court she had argued with Dr Bell on April 25, two days prior to the altercation, about his interest in another woman.
Doctor 'would not talk' to wife
She told the court he had been "stonewalling" her by not engaging in conversation and had been sleeping on the couch.
Under examination by the prosecution, she said on the morning of April 27 she heard him getting ready and again "begged" him to "please talk to me".
"He ignored me," she said.
"I was very upset, I was heartbroken, I was crying.
"He said 'you are paranoid' … he just blanked me, he ignored me."
She told the court she told him he needed to pack a bag before leaving the house.
He went to the side gate to leave with Ms Siddique behind him.
Ms Siddique said at that point she lay an open hand on his shoulder, where his satchel strap was, and he used his elbow to push her without force, but then said something like "for Christ's sake" in a "gruff voice".
Using both hands, he pushed and lifted her at the same time and she "flew backwards", she said.
She said as she lay on the ground screaming in pain, Dr Bell left.
"He walked away," she said.
"He heard me screaming and sobbing, he would have known I was in pain.
"He left me there like an animal."
Mr Frietag questioned Ms Siddique on whether she lay a hand on Mr Bell or grabbed his strap.
She told the court she lay an open palm on his shoulder.
But when Mr Frietag played Ms Siddique video footage from a police body-worn camera of an interview she did later that day at her home, in which she described grabbing Mr Bell's satchel strap and closed her fist in demonstration, she agreed that was likely the case but said she did not remember it.
Dispute over injuries
Mr Frietag also questioned her evidence about her injuries.
Ms Siddique told the court she was frightened she had broken her arm and had "searing" pain in her back from the fall.
Mr Frietag questioned her on sections of her calls to the dispatcher and body-worn camera video, where she did not communicate that to police.
"Your description of searing pain is an exaggeration of what occurred," he put to her.
"It's absolutely not because I know what I felt," she said.
She gave evidence that she may have been playing down the extent of her injuries at that time.
The trial continues, and is expected to run over two days.
