[Omah]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...recording.html

Shafilea Ahmed's mother was overheard calling her children 'daughters of pigs' and threatening to hit them on secret recordings made by the police, a court heard today.

It emerged today that Mrs Ahmed was heard 'telling off' her husband in secret recordings made by police when the bugged the family home.

In another extract, Mrs Ahmed was heard shouting at her daughters calling them "daughters of pigs " and threatening to hit them.

She said:"I was just trying to scare them. I did not mean to do what I said."

The jury was played six extracts from secret police recordings at the family house in Warrington, Cheshire made after Shafilea went missing in September 2003.

Mrs Ahmed was heard shouting at her husband in discussions about the police investigation.

Mr Edis said:"You don't sound terrified of him. You are telling him off."

She said:"Perhaps I was angry.I was suffering from depression and I was not thinking very clearly."

One extract was of the couple discussing the possibility of their house being bugged by police and Mr Edis said:" You were worried because there was a secret to be kept. You were working together as a team to make sure the cover up was effective."

Mother of five Mrs Ahmed replied:"I had not done anything. I was frightened."

Mr Edis said:"You have stayed with a murderer for nine years. You have operated as a team."

She replied:"I am telling the truth. I have never been part of a team.I have not taken part in anything."

She admitted that the " hundreds of hours " of recordings did not show any signs of violence toward her or any examples of her asking her husband what had become of Shafilea.

She said:"Obviously he did not threaten me 24 hours a day but there were several occasions."

Mr Edis said the taped conversations showed that " you were planning a defence strategy with him because you had done the murder with him."

She replied:"No."

Mr Edis said in a third conversation played to the jury about a trip to Pakistan she was "telling him off."

She said: "That is my normal voice.I was not shouting at my husband.My husband will not allow me to shout at him. In our culture women do not shout at their husbands. It is my normal voice. It is how I speak."

Mr Edis said the extracts showed her speaking " very angrily and very aggressively " to her husband.

He said:"You were in control in the house.You were not just a domestic servant. You could stick up for yourself."

Mrs Ahmed replied:"It is different in your culture. In our culture, it is not acceptable for a woman to go against her husband's wishes."

Mr Edis said to her:" Shafilea had brought shame on your family and if there is one thing you cannot stand, it is shame. It is more important than happiness and even more important than life. That is why you killed her."

Mr Ahmed replied:"No. As I have said before, I did not kill our daughter."

When this dreadful woman is finally found guilty I hope that she is banged up for a very, very long time .....

[Omah]

http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/...de_suspicions/

THE jury in the Shafilea Ahmed trial has been hearing why they should not convict her parents of her murder this morning.

Tom Bayliss QC told the court that despite the intense media interest in the case jurors had to put aside any prejudices or conceptions they had when decided the verdicts for Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed, aged 52 and 49.

He said: "It is a case that has gripped the media. I doubt anyone in this country doesn't know about this case. It appeals to all our prejudices. A young woman trying to live the life she wanted "It is easy to portray [her parents] as backward thinking figures. Their culture is still right in Pakistan and they find it difficult to accept [western life]."

He added that they should ignore the prosecution's assertions that the 17-year-old, who is alleged to have died on September 11 2003 in the family home on Liverpool Road, Great Sankey, could only submit, escape or die.

He added: "The fact Shafilea was rebelling against her parents doesn't mean they would kill her."

The court is expected to hear the final case from Farzana's barrister on Monday.

Well, I'm not putting aside MY suspicicions .....

[Omah]

http://www.thisisbigbrother.com/foru...reply&t=201527

A judge has told the jury in the Shafilea Ahmed murder trial to put aside any "feelings of sympathy and revulsion" as they approach their verdicts.

Mr Justice Roderick Evans has begun summing up in the trial of Shafilea's parents, Iftikhar and Farzana, who are accused at Chester Crown Court of murdering the 17-year-old at the family home in September 2003.

Mr Justice Evans told the seven men and five women of the jury: "Put aside any feelings of sympathy and revulsion. Discuss the evidence coolly and calmly."

He told them there was "no special way" or "secret formula" to reaching a verdict and urged them to rely on common sense.

I wonder how long the jury will take ?

If they decide to re-evaluate the whose case, they could be days, but if their minds have already been made up by the weight of evidence, then they could be out by tea-time.

[bbfan1991]

Found guilty today. I hope they rot in jail!

[Munchkins]

Originally Posted by bbfan1991

Found guilty today. I hope they rot in jail!

So do i, its just so disgusting

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19068490

The parents of Shafilea Ahmed have been found guilty of her murder.

Iftikhar, 52, and Farzana Ahmed, 49, had denied her murder but the jury at Chester Crown Court returned guilty verdicts against them both.

As the verdicts were delivered by the jury after two days of deliberations, Iftikhar Ahmed stood impassively. Mrs Ahmed wiped tears from her eyes with a tissue.

As Mr Ahmed was taken down to the cells, he swore at police officers.

Their children Junyad, Mevish and the youngest, who cannot be named for legal reasons, all broke down in tears.

Mr Justice Roderick Evans said he would pass sentence at 14:15 BST.

I hope that he bangs them up for with a minimum of 30 years .....

[bbfan1991]

Both got 25 years minimum tariff each.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by bbfan1991

Both got 25 years minimum tariff each.

Good, I hope Shafilea may rest in peace now - the remainder of the family will have a lot of soul-searching to do for conspiring to cover up the crime, though.

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19068490

On sentencing, Mr Justice Evans told the couple: "A desire that she understood and appreciated the cultural heritage from which she came is perfectly understandable, but an expectation that she live in a sealed cultural environment separate from the culture of the country in which she lived was unrealistic, destructive and cruel."

He added: "You killed one daughter, but you have blighted the lives of your remaining children.
"Alesha escaped but she is unlikely to be able to avoid the legacy of her upbringing.

"Mevish, after a period of trying to live independently, was recaptured and brought home, and has since become compliant with your wishes."

He added: "As to Junyad, he remains supportive, especially of you Iftikhar Ahmed.

"Whether that is simply out of filial affection or the result of the warped values you instilled in him is impossible to tell.

[Z]

I'm glad justice has been served, I'm so convinced they're as guilty as each other.

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19119014

Iftikhar Ahmed embraced Western culture until his marriage to Farzana, his ex-wife said.

Vivi Lone Andersen said Iftikhar was "a very happy boy" who enjoyed dancing, drinking beer and going to discos when he lived with her in Denmark.

She said his personality changed around his Pakistani relatives.

Ms Anderson, who is Danish, married Iftikhar in 1982 in Copenhagen and they had a son, Tony Andersen.

The couple lived in Denmark until 1986, when he received a letter from family in Pakistan and told his wife he had to go home as his mother was unwell.

After several months in Pakistan, Iftikhar asked Ms Anderson to join him in Bradford with their son to start a new life.

When she arrived, a heavily pregnant woman, whom Iftikhar introduced as his cousin Farzana, was also living in the house.

It was only when a health visitor went to the house that Iftikhar admitted that Farzana's baby was his and that he had married her in Pakistan.

He told his wife that he and Farzana had been promised to each other when they were children.

Ms Andersen left the UK the same month she had arrived and recalls conversations with Iftikhar in which he said he could leave his son to grow up without his influence because he was a boy.

He said, if they had had a girl, he would not be able to allow her to grow up "without his guidance in the Islamic ways".

Ms Andersen said she was married to Iftikhar for five years, but left him after learning he had married Farzana, adding: "Farzana was pregnant at that time so he was in deep trouble and he knew that if I went to the British police, which I could have easily done, he would have been thrown out.

"I don't know the rules in Britain about having two wives because we were still married at that time."

So ..... Iftikhar is a hypocrite and a bigamist who refused to support his own son .....

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19480160

A mother jailed for life for murdering her daughter is seeking permission to appeal against her conviction, the CPS has said.

Farzana Ahmed and her husband Iftikhar were found guilty of murdering Shafilea in July.

The 17-year-old went missing from her home in Warrington, Cheshire, in 2003 and her body was found in the River Kent in Cumbria six months later.

The Court of Appeal has received an appeal application, the CPS said.

The grounds for appeal have not been disclosed.

I hope any such appeal is rejected .....

[Kizzy]

Me too, and I hope it serves as a warning against any further so called 'honour' killings.

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20356520

The sister of murdered 17-year-old Shafilea Ahmed has avoided a jail term after admitting her part in an armed robbery at her parents' home.

Alesha Ahmed, 24, was arrested in connection with the robbery in Warrington, Cheshire in August 2010.

She was given a 12-month suspended sentence at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty in April 2011.

Her parents Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed were jailed for life in August after being convicted of murdering Shafilea.

Southwark Crown Court heard the teenager's arrest ultimately led to the conviction of her parents for the murder.

It was in a police interview that she told officers she had seen her parents kill her sister seven years earlier.

The jury was told that she helped organise the robbery at the family home in Liverpool Road.

Three masked men broke into the house, tying up Farzana Ahmed and three of her children.

They were armed with a gun, a hammer and an iron bar and ransacked the property before fleeing with cash and jewellery.

Her brother was kicked as he lay on the ground by a man wearing a steel toe-capped boot, and Mevish, one of her sisters, was hit in the shoulder with the hammer, the court heard.

Mr Justice Irwin told Alesha Ahmed, who is part of a witness protection scheme, that the normal sentence for a serious crime of this kind would be a significant jail sentence.

The judge described her story as "extraordinary and terrifying", but said he was confident she would not re-offend and suspended her sentence for two years.

He said: "In my view, this is a case for mercy.

"I bear in mind all of the extraordinary circumstances I have outlined, in particular the truly appalling nature of what you had to witness, the impact this has had on you, and what you went through to be a witness."

He added her role in the robbery was "crucial", but there was a "degree of unreality" about how she behaved.

Good call from the judge .....

Cheshire Police appealed for anyone with information about the robbery to come forward.

Det Insp Dougie Shaw, who is leading the investigation, said: "The men involved in the robbery remain outstanding.

"Enquiries are ongoing to identify these offenders and ensure they are brought to justice."

CCTV images of two men police wish to trace in connection with the incident have now been released.

The men are pictured at a petrol station in the Castle Bromwich area of Birmingham on 25 August 2010.

Anyone who knows them should give them up .....

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21631087

A charity for victims of honour crime is calling for a serious case review into Shafilea Ahmed's murder.

The 17-year-old went missing from her home in Warrington, Cheshire, in 2003. Her body found six months later.

She was suffocated by her parents Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed after years of abuse.

Karma Nirvana said it has asked Warrington Local Safeguarding Children Board to investigate. It has yet to comment.

Karma Nirvana project manager Anup Manota said: "Serious lessons must be learnt from the tragic death of Shafilea so it never happens again.

"There were definitely flaws in this case. There were definite triggers and discussions about the threat of Shafilea being taken to Pakistan and being forced into marriage."