A mother-of-four from Chatham, Kent, has spoken out after her neighbour fabricated evidence of a violent assault, leading to her being arrested twice, including once in front of her disabled children, and held in a police cell for 13 hours. Ruzena Gaborova, 48, said the ordeal followed years of harassment by neighbour Salina Begum, 47, who last month was given a suspended sentence for perverting the course of justice after police discovered her assault claims were fake.

The dispute began in 2022 when Begum, treated by police as the victim, submitted CCTV footage allegedly showing Gaborova hitting her with a broom. Gaborova was arrested but cleared after providing her own footage showing Begum as the aggressor; Begum then reused the same video to make further false claims in 2023, resulting in Gaborova's second arrest and overnight detention before officers realised the footage was fabricated and apologised. Gaborova, who has lived in Britain for 16 years, also alleges Begum spied on her, damaged her car, left a decapitated rat on it, and arranged for others to threaten her.