Derry Court: 'Anyone who takes hold of another human being's throat is not getting bail'

A woman told police she 'thought she was going to die' after her on/off partner grabbed her by the throat and squeezed her against a wall Derry Magistrate's Court heard today.

Kieran Slevin (31) of Columba Terrace in Derry appeared charged with assaulting a female occasioning her actual bodily harm on May 14.

A police officer connected the accused to the charge and opposed bail. 

He told the court that police were in attendance at A&E in Altnagelvin Hospital on an unrelated matter when they were approached by the alleged victim in this case.

She told them she had been assaulted by her 'on/off partner' the defendant.

The woman claimed she had been at a property with him and they had been discussing his drug use. 

She said she had slapped him 'lightly' to get his attention and he had slapped her hard causing her to fall to the ground and bang her head off a radiator.

The woman told police Slevin had then grabbed her by the throat and squeezed and then pushed her against a wall so that her feet barely touched the ground. 

When Slevin was interviewed he was shown pictures of the woman's bruises and while he largely said no comment he claimed he was acting in self defence. 

The police officer said that Slevin had 16 previous convictions and was currently on bail and police feared further offending. 

Defence solicitor Michael Fahy said his client had made a case for self defence. 

He said that the alleged victim lived in Belfast which should go some way towards reassuring the court. 

District Judge Barney McElholm said that due to the lack of political leadership here the strangulation law was not yet on the books. 

He said he did not count grabbing someone by the throat and squeezing was a simple assault. 

The judge went on 'anyone who takes hold of another human being's throat is not getting bail'.

He remanded Slevin in custody to appear again on June 8.