'Lifting the shame that was never mine to carry' - alleged victim of Al Fayed associate
Warning: This article contains upsetting content
A woman who says she was raped and trafficked by an associate of the businessman Mohamed Al Fayed has been identified as a possible victim of modern slavery.
“It makes me feel really excited that I can finally lift the shame that was never mine to carry,” Joanna Brittan says, almost a decade after first reporting the allegations to police.
In 2017, she reported multiple rapes by Ahmed Obaidly, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) diplomat, and trafficking by the diplomat to Al Fayed dating back to 1990.
Her case is now being reviewed by the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the government system for identifying potential victims of modern slavery.
Joanna, from Devon, has waived her right to anonymity and decided to speak publicly in the hope that other women who may have been abused will come forward.
Both Obaidly and Al Fayed have since died. Joanna now wants police to widen their investigation to examine whether others may have facilitated the abuse she alleges.
“Obaidly and Al Fayed should have come to justice,” she says. “But if those who allowed it to happen are finally held accountable, then maybe something can still change.”
A live investigation by the Metropolitan police into those who may have facilitated or enabled Al Fayed’s offending is continuing, and it is urging anyone with information to come forward.
Joanna’s referral comes amid broader scrutiny of allegations made against Al Fayed and renewed calls for police to examine whether abuse took place within wider networks.
‘I was threatened and terrified’
In December 2017, Joanna walked into Totnes Police Station to report what she describes as “traumatic memories” from almost three decades earlier.
“I was absolutely terrified,” she says.
She claims she was threatened and told not to talk about what had happened to her but after watching a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary about Al Fayed she decided to go to police.
In 1990, Joanna says she returned to the UK after working in Qatar and applied for a job helping to manage the estate of a UAE royal.
However, before the job began Joanna says things took an unexpected turn.
She claims her recruiter insisted she was tested for sexually transmitted infections in the UAE embassy .
“It was disgusting,” Joanna explains.
“She bullied me. She said there was no job unless I agreed. It wasn’t a perk, it was compulsory.”
According to Joanna, she was later offered accommodation by Obaidly where she alleges he raped her three times.
“He came in at night when I was asleep,” she says.
“There was no way to escape. I felt myself leaving my body. I described it to police as if I was watching from the ceiling.”
Joanna says she did not flee “because of the power and authority of the people, and I was very loyal to my employers”, and also that she had nowhere to go.
Joanna claims she was sacked a few months later after a fall-out with her recruiter who required her to sign a non-disclosure agreement and threatened her.
Soon afterwards, she says Obaidly took her to meet his friend Al Fayed at Harrods.
“I didn’t know why I was there,” Joanna says.
“I wasn’t taking notes, I wasn’t a PA. I felt like I was being paraded like a trophy.”
She says she was then driven in a locked limousine to Al Fayed’s Surrey estate, where she alleges she was threatened and pressured to take on a role as a nanny.
Joanna then has a memory gap and fears she, like other women, was drugged and abused during that time.
Joanna cannot recall how she left the property or how long she was there.
“These allegations… were made years before recent widespread reporting,” she emphasises.
In December 2017, Joanna’s statement was sent from Devon & Cornwall Police to the Met.
Police say no further action was taken at the time as Obaidly had died in 2015 and there was insufficient evidence to pursue a case against Al Fayed before his death in 2023.
However, Joanna is frustrated that there was no wider inquiry.
The current trafficking legislation was not in place at the time of the allegations.
The Met says the way it works has “moved on immeasurably” and that “our teams have transformed the way we investigate rape and sexual offences”.
Joanna has recently been reinterviewed and the NRM modern slavery referral made.
She is not the only woman to report she was raped by Obaidly.
Another, who has spoken anonymously, says she was assaulted in 1989 by Al Fayed’s brother, Salah, and another man at a property in Park Lane.
It was only when Joanna sent her a photograph that she identified the other man as Obaidly.
“I recognised that face like it was yesterday,” she explains.
The BBC understands at least four other women have also been referred to the NRM.
Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, the advocate for survivors of alleged abuse by Al Fayed, “fundamentally believes there will be other women out there”.
“Joanna and the other woman – their lives have been destroyed,” she says.
“Their trauma is daily. These allegations may never be tested now the men are dead but the police can and should broaden their investigation.”
Joanna’s MP, Caroline Voaden, echoes the call for broader scrutiny.
“It looks very likely Mohamed Al Fayed was not acting alone,” Voaden says.
“Even though these men are now dead, we need clarity and recognition of what these women have experienced.”
Joanna alleges Obaidly also assaulted her on trips to Cannes and the Paris Ritz, and has been interviewed by French police as part of their ongoing trafficking investigation.
The UAE embassy and the company Joanna says she worked for have not responded to approaches by the BBC for comment.
The new owners of Harrods say they will not comment on individual cases.
“Harrods continues to support the bravery of all women in coming forward,” it adds.
“Their claims point to the breadth of abuse by Mohamed Fayed and again raise serious allegations against his brother, Salah Fayed.
“The picture that has emerged suggests that this pattern of abusive behaviour took place wherever they operated.”
A spokesperson for the Met says: “We’re working with partners across the criminal justice system to ensure that victim-survivors are at the heart of our response, with a greater focus on suspects and their offending.
“We continue to support all victims and we urge anyone with information, whether they were directly affected by Mohamed Al Fayed’s actions or aware of others who may have been involved, or committed offences to come forward.”
The Met says it does not comment on the specifics of individuals interviewed or potential interviewees at any stage during an investigation.
Joanna says her recent interview with the Met went well.
“I’m really happy. I feel very seen and heard by them for the first time.”
- If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, help and support is available at BBC Action Line
Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.
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