A blackmail plotter who posted revenge porn videos of an Iraqi General’s daughter has been jailed for nearly four years.
Karivan Mizuri was also made the subject of a non-harassment order for 20 years which forbids him from having any contact with his victim.
Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC also imposed a 12-month supervised release order upon him “in order to protect the public from harm.”
Dundee Sheriff Court was told that Mizuri’s campaign of abuse had been designed to “shame, humiliate and embarrass” the 23-year-old student.
Sheriff Drummond jailed him for 47 months and said it was clear that it had caused her “immense” hurt and had been worsened because of her cultural and religious background.
Victim was ‘publicly ridiculed’
The sheriff told Mizuri: “You haven’t really taken responsibility and you’ve showed no particular remorse. You have taken no blame for it.
“These offences are serious and have had a devastating effect on her and her entire family. Your motivation was not sexual gratification, but shame, humiliation and revenge.
“It is clear she and her family have suffered significantly as a result of your behaviour. She has described the impact of your crime as immense.”
She added: “You have publicly ridiculed and shamed her. The embarrassment and fear she has suffered is ongoing. It is clear that has been intensified by the cultural context.”
Files circulated online for 13 months
Mizuri spent more than a year posting the material without consent on Facebook and on an adult video website.
Mizuri then drew attention to the material as he tried to blackmail her father for $50,000 to stop him from posting further explicit content. Mizuri was found guilty of two blackmail plots.
Fiscal depute Lora Apostalova told the court: “She is 23 and a student. He took a video of her showering and carrying out a sexual act.
“Images and video were sent to her friends and family of her naked in the shower. Her face was clearly visible. The video showed her performing a sex act.
“She did not send them. He was the only other person with access to her Facebook account. Towards the end of 2019 various friends and family advised images were sent to them.”
The fiscal depute said: “They were also put on a pornography website. She was of the view the accused was responsible. Over 13 months naked pictures and videos were circulated online on various accounts.
“A witness believed he had posted the images as revenge porn against her family. The posting continued until he was arrested on 5 February 2021. The complainer’s face was visible as the camera zoomed on her.”
The charges
The court was told that some of the naked pictures were partially covered by Mizuri placing emojis and phrases over the woman’s private parts.
Mizuri admitted disclosing intimate images and videos of the woman without her permission. He sent the images to named others while being reckless about the distress they would cause.
He also admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner between 2019 and February last year by uploading images of the woman, along with pictures of her home and personal details about her.
He had changed his pleas during the trial to guilty on two charges, and was subsequently found guilty by a jury of two related extortion charges.
Mizuri was found guilty of trying to extort the money from an Iraqi General between 18 September and 31 December 2019. The jury found he had menaced his victim by making him apprehensive about further naked pictures of his daughter being posted online.
He was also found guilty of trying to extort £8,000 from a second man at his workplace in Dundee. He told the man he would post fake sexual pictures of his family members on social media.
‘He has vilified by family’s reputation’
He then targeted the woman’s father – an Iraqi-based senior military officer – and demanded $50,000 to prevent him continuing to put more naked photographs of his daughter online.
The general, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the trial: “He has vilified my family’s reputation. He has posted my daughter’s naked photos.
“He used my daughter’s Facebook account. He has asked for money.”
The jury were told that Mizuri had been involved in a relationship with the woman until she left and returned to her family in the Middle East.
