The parents of suspected honour killing victim Shafilea Ahmed were on Wednesday charged with their daughter’s murder - eight years after she disappeared.
Shafilea, 17, went missing from her UK home in September 2003 after complaining that her parents were trying to force her into an arranged marriage.
A massive hunt was launched for the bright A-level student who had dreamed of becoming a lawyer. Her decomposed body was found in February 2004, hidden near a river in the Lake District.
A coroner ruled that the Muslim teenager had been the victim of a “vile murder”.
Iftikhar Ahmed, 51, a taxi driver, and his wife Farzana, 48, were initially arrested on suspicion of kidnapping their daughter in December 2003. They were questioned by police but were released in June 2004 without charge when the Crown Prosecution Service ruled there was insufficient evidence against them.
The couple were re-arrested on suspicion of murder in September last year but have always denied any involvement in their daughter’s disappearance or death.
But yesterday, almost exactly eight years after Shafilea went missing, they were charged with her murder. They appeared at Halton Magistrates’ Court in Runcorn, Cheshire, for a six-minute hearing, during which they spoke through an interpreter to confirm their names, ages and address.
Standing in the dock flanked by two security guards, Mrs Ahmed wore a traditional grey Asian shawl and fought back tears. Bearded Mr Ahmed, in an open-necked white shirt and light grey trousers, remained expressionless, his hands clasped. The murder charge was put to them but no plea was entered.
The charges are believed to have come after fresh evidence was handed to police by Shafilea’s sister, Alisha, who was two years younger.
She was arrested by police for allegedly masterminding an armed robbery at the family home. Alisha, who is in the witness protection programme, admitted the charges and is awaiting sentence.
The 22-year-old is believed to have made new claims about her parents’ involvement in Shafilea’s death.
Police investigating her disappearance discovered she had travelled to Pakistan for what she thought was a family holiday.
But once there she was allegedly told an arranged marriage had been organised for her. The A-level pupil drank bleach in an apparent suicide attempt while in Pakistan and returned to the UK to continue studying. Weeks later she disappeared. She was reported missing by a teacher.
After her body was found on the banks of the River Kent in Cumbria, an inquest ruled she had been murdered and a pathologist stated she was likely to have been smothered or strangled.
The coroner said at the time: “Shafilea was the victim of a very vile murder and there’s no evidence before the court as to who did it. There are things people know that have not been told to this court.
“Her ambition was to live her own life in her own way: to study, to follow a career in the law and to do what she wanted to do. These are just basic fundamental rights and they were denied to her.”
Her father has always denied he tried to force Shafilea into an arranged marriage, claiming she accidentally drank bleach during a power cut after mistakenly thinking it was fruit juice. Mr Ahmed said he had not reported her missing because police had not taken him seriously when she had run away before.
In February 2003, Shafilea sought help from youth advisory service Connexions, saying she was “running away because she was in fear of being married”.
Several songs written by Shafilea in the run-up to her death were later discovered, one saying: “I feel trapped.” Another stated: “All they think about is honour, I was like a normal teenage kid, didn’t ask too much, I just wanted to fit in, but my culture was different. Now I’m sitting here playing happy families, still crying tears.”
Her parents were remanded in custody. The case was adjourned for a bail hearing at Manchester Crown Court tomorrow, where they will appear via video link. - Daily Mail