Prisoner accused of raping, terrorizing his NYC diplomat wife whines that he’s traumatized by life in Rikers

The family moved to the US in 2022 on diplomatic visas so the wife could take a job at the United Nations in NYC.

A Saudi Arabian man accused of brutally raping and assaulting his high-ranking diplomat wife is claiming to be "traumatized" by life in Rikers Island.

Bandar Alharbi was arrested on Aug. 9, 2023, and charged with rape, assault, stalking, endangering the welfare of a child, and has been held without bail at Rikers awaiting trial since, according to records.

Alharbi, 33, is alleged to have regularly abused his spouse, telling her “all the graphic ways that he would kill her, and all that she was good for was in the bedroom,” as stated by Assistant District Attorney Kirstie Raffan during his August arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.

The couple previously rented a furnished apartment in a luxury Hudson Yards building.

The abuse reportedly began during their honeymoon in 2017 and escalated over the years, including an incident in 2018 where he allegedly gave her the “first of many black eyes.” In 2022, after moving to Manhattan, Alharbi allegedly headbutted the woman in front of their 4-year-old child at their Hudson Yards apartment, leading to her hospitalization for stitches and subsequent abuse upon returning home.

During the arraignment, Raffan described instances where Alharbi appeared “sexually aroused after these violent episodes.” She also recounted how he allegedly punched the woman again after she complained of head pain, saying, “This is to balance it out."

In April 2023, he allegedly threatened to send her family “a photograph of him slitting her throat,” according to Raffan's statements.

Bandar Alharbi has been held in Rikers without bail and is due back in court at the end of April.

The final straw came when their son, aged 5, intervened and pleaded with his father to stop hurting his mother. This led the woman to file a police report, check into a hotel, and eventually flee to Bahrain with her son, filing for divorce in the process.

Now, Alharbi is requesting release from Rikers while awaiting trial, citing the "traumatizing" and "substandard" conditions in the facility. He claims to have been stabbed by another inmate and forced to clean up sewage with his clothes, among other grievances.

His lawyers are seeking $250,000 bail, mentioning his parents' ability to contribute and the Saudi government's potential assistance, along with plans to address his alleged alcoholism and provide housing upon release.