‘Westernised’ Shafilea Ahmed tortured by her Muslim family, court told

Shafilea Ahmed – described as ‘thoroughly Westernised’ – was murdered by strict Muslims Iftikhar Ahmed, 52, and Farzana, 49, after their year-long campaign of violence to ‘crush’ her failed, it was alleged.

On September 11, 2003, the Ahmeds picked up Shafilea from her part-time call centre job then killed her at the family home in front of her younger sister Alesha, the prosecution claimed.

The couple were only brought to trial after Alesha, now 23, told police she had witnessed the killing after seven years of keeping quiet.

In the months before she died, Shafilea tried to kill herself by swallowing bleach in ‘an act of desperation’ after being ‘abducted’ by her father and taken to Pakistan for an arranged marriage, the jury was told.

She also ran away from home twice between 2002 and 2003 as her parents ‘despaired of her ever being a daughter they could be proud of’.

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