A woman who was allegedly raped by a man in an Ipswich flat has told a court her fingernail was damaged and broken as she tried to fend off her attacker's advances.

Dekan Saed, who is originally from Iraq but was living in Portman Road at the time of the alleged incident, is accused of repeatedly raping, falsely imprisoning and strangling the woman during the early hours of Sunday, November 13.

Saed denies the charges, but at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday the woman said injuries to the nail on her little finger were caused when she punched him in an attempt to stop the attack. 

Lynne Shirley, representing Saed, put to the witness that the injuries took place before she met up with the defendant, and showed an image of the alleged victim taken on the night in question where she said a red mark can be seen on her finger. 

Saed claimed the complainant had told him she punched another man while at a pub before meeting up with him and Ms Shirley suggested this incident was what caused the damage to her finger. 

The witness told the court this altercation with the other man at the pub never happened, and said any marks that can be seen in the image might be coloured acrylic on her nails showing through. 

Earlier in the trial, the woman was asked about an audio recording from her phone, in which the defendant said he wanted her to be his girlfriend.

The witness was heard to reply that they should be together for a while before becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.

When defence counsel Lynne Shirley asked her to confirm she made the comments, she replied: "I can't remember, but if I did, it was probably to keep him happy at this point.

"I was scared he was going to keep going."

She was subsequently asked if she had sex with the defendant and regretted it afterwards, to which she replied: "I had unconsensual sex and I hated it."

Saed denies four counts of rape and false imprisonment and non-fatal strangulation.

Transcripts of Saed's three police interviews were read to the court in which he called the allegations "far from true". 

He told police the pair had been intimate, which was initiated by the woman, but said they did not have sexual intercourse before he fell asleep. 

When asked if he understood what rape was, he said: "In my country it is a really horrible thing. It is very shameful." 

The trial continues.