Parents Killed Daughter Over Her Westernised Lifestyle

Killed ... Shafilea Ahmed

A GIRL told cops how she watched her parents kill her sister during a row, a court heard yesterday.

Pretty Shafilea Ahmed, 17, was murdered after her Westernised lifestyle “brought shame” on her strict Muslim family’s honour, it was claimed.
Her body was dumped by a river near Sedgwick, Cumbria, hours after the alleged killing in September 2003.

Shafilea’s remains were discovered five months later. But her death remained a mystery for seven years, until October 2010, when sister Alesha spoke to police. Prosecutor Andrew Edis, QC, told Chester Crown Court that the evidence of Alesha — now 23 but 15 at the time — was “the final piece of the puzzle”.

Mr Edis told how A-level student Shafilea had clashed with father Iftikhar, 52, and mother Farzana, 49, over her wish to have boyfriends and wear Western clothes.

The parents took her to Pakistan six months before her death in an attempt to force her into an arranged marriage. But during the trip Shafilea drank bleach in protest and they had to bring her back to the UK for medical treatment.

Accused ... Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed

Mr Edis said the couple killed their daughter at their home in Warrington, Cheshire, “because her conduct was bringing shame upon them”.

Alesha made her claims after being arrested for a robbery at her parents’ home which she admitted.

Both Mr and Mrs Ahmed deny murder. The case continues.