An arrest warrant for an alleged rapist has been withdrawn – almost a decade after he is thought to have fled to Iraq.

Salam Karis, then 23 and living in Headington, was before the courts in early 2014 charged with the rape of a 19-year-old woman on the towpath near Hythe Bridge Street on January 19.

Having initially been refused bail, he was released from custody in April 2014 by Judge Mary Jane Mowatt after an associate stood a £3,000 surety.

Almost 10 years on, Oxford Crown Court was told on Friday (September 15) that the defendant was believed to have fled to Iraq.

READ MORE: Man charged with Oxford 'rape'

Prosecuting, Charles Ward-Jackson said it was ‘extremely unlikely’ that the defendant was going to return to the UK.

“I am instructed to ask that the [arrest] warrant which is now nearly 10 years old is withdrawn,” he said.

Judge Ian Pringle KC withdrew the warrant but noted that the police could still arrest Karis if he was to return to the UK.