Taxi driver found guilty of raping Greenock woman in Edinburghhttps://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/new ... edinburgh/Abdul Nabizada, 35, preyed on his female passenger during a journey in Edinburgh in 2021.
Jurors at the High Court in the city heard how Nabizada didn’t take the woman back to her address in the city after a night out.
Instead, he took her to a secluded area in the city’s Joppa area and subjected her to a horrifying ordeal.
The court heard how the accused detained the girl against her will, seized her mobile phone from her possession before touching her body and struggled with her. He then raped her.
Nabizada denied any wrongdoing. He told jurors about how he came to Scotland and after working for the US, Danish and UK militaries in his Afghan homeland.
But jurors didn’t believe his claim and returned a unanimous guilty verdict on a charge of rape against him late on Tuesday afternoon.
Judge John Morris KC heard that he was a first offender and he called for a report into Nabizada’s background to be prepared ahead of a sentencing hearing next month.
He added: “Your name will be added to the Sex Offenders Register.”
The story emerged following the end of a three-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
The court heard how Nabizada's victim, originally from Greenock, had gone on a night out with friends in Edinburgh in 2021, but had decided to leave early.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court that Nabizada picked her up in Morrison Street, Edinburgh and started driving her.
She told the court of how the accused had made her feel uncomfortable during the journey.
She said: “He asked me to have sex with him. I said no. I had a boyfriend.”
The woman told the court that Nabizada persisted in asking her to have intercourse.
She added: “He said ‘can we have sex’. He said it would be quick and it would take five minutes. I said no. I had a boyfriend. He kept on apologising.
“He asked more than once.”
She told the court that following the attack, she ran from Nabizada’s taxi and ran towards some nearby bushes where she hid.
The court heard she later notified a loved one about what had happened.
Nabizada said he came to the UK in 2016 after working as a translator for various western militaries.
The court heard that he lived in Pilton Park, Edinburgh,.
He added: “I had the choice of coming to the US, the UK or Denmark. I chose to come to Britain.”
He said he was married and had previously worked as a tailor in his homeland.
He added: “I am a native Farsi speaker. I can speak Dari, Pashto, Urdu and I understand Arabic. “I also speak English.”
Following Nabizada's conviction, prosecutor Leanne Cross told the court that the accused had no previous convictions.
Defence lawyer David Taylor told Judge Morris that since his client was a first offender, the court was obliged to obtain a background report on Nabizada.
He added: “Mr Nabizada has been made well aware that in the event of conviction that the only sentence which can be imposed and that will be a custodial sentence.”
Judge Morris then remanded the accused in custody and thanked jurors for their service.
Nabizada will be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on August 11, 2026.
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