The Crown appeal against sentence in HM Advocate v Nawshowani: Part 1: the decision in Nawshowani and the importance of victim statements in sentencing rape

In the first of a series of five articles on the Crown appeal against sentence in HM Advocate v Nawshowani (Barzan) [2024] HCJAC 21, the author considers the decision in which the appeal court allowed the Crown’s appeal against the sentence of six years’ imprisonment imposed on the respondent following his conviction after trial of a charge of abduction and rape, and substituted an extended sentence of 11 years. Given the importance which the appeal court attached to the complainer’s victim statement in allowing the Crown’s appeal, the article reviews the physical and psychological harm caused by rape, and the use of victim statements in sentencing the offence.