Alleged victim 'surprised to see gardaí arrive'
An alleged victim of a threat to kill has told a jury that she was surprised to see gardaí arrive at her house after she had a "normal conversation" with her brother, the accused, about photographs of his children.
Ms Rawaa Hassan said that there was no need for the gardaí and she hadn't called them.
She was giving evidence in the trial of Hassan Hassan (aged 38) of Rivervalley Close, Swords, who has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to making a threat to kill or cause her serious harm at Roselawn Crescent, Castleknock on August 9, 2005.
Ms Hassan told Mr Dominic McGinn BL, prosecuting, that her brother had come to her home to ask her about photographs.
Her teenage daughter thought something was wrong because they were speaking loudly but she told the court that she and her brother were speaking in Arabic and they always spoke loudly in their native language.
Ms Hassan said that her daughter doesn't understand arabic and misunderstood the situation.
The witness said she "couldn't especially remember the conversation" but when asked by counsel if it was happy or angry she said "there was nothing at all about it, it was just normal".
She could not remember how long her brother stayed because it was a long time ago. She said her brother took the pictures of his children and left the house.
When asked by Mr McGinn how she felt after her brother left, she replied that she felt normal.
Earlier, Mr McGinn told the jury that it would be the prosecution's case that Mr Hassan called to his sister's home and an argument broke out between the two over photographs and video recordings of his children.
Mr Hassan allegedly forced his sister's husband and daughter out of the room and when left alone with his sister threatened to kill her and burn down her house.
Mr McGinn said it "was a serious threat" that left the family in a state of "extreme fear" and they called the gardaí.
The hearing continues in legal argument before Judge Frank O'Donnell and in the absence of the jury of 10 women and two men.
