Family of alleged 'honour killing' victim fails to show up at court
The former husband, father and cousin of a Bradford woman who was allegedly the victim of an “honour” killing in Pakistan have failed to attend a scheduled court appearance in the country.
Alleged 'honour' killing victim was murdered, Pakistani police confirm
Days after forensic tests by Pakistani police indicated that 28-year-old Samia Shahid was strangled, a lawyer for the three suspects told the court in Jhelum, in Pakistan’s Punjab province, that they were being illegally detained by police.
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However, the senior officer in charge of the police station where the murder case has been registered said the trio are on the run.
Shahid’s family has strenuously denied allegations that they killed her and originally claimed she died of a heart attack. The investigation into her death began only after her husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazam, raised the alarm with Shahid’s friends in the UK.
Bradford MP Naz Shah demanded that Pakistani authorities exhume her body and commission an independent postmortem after accusing them of colluding in “a potential cover up” over Shahid’s death.
Mian Mohammad Arif, the lawyer for the accused, has claimed they are being held in “secret detention”. He told the Guardian: “Last night we had submitted a habeas corpus application with the local court and the judge presiding over Samia’s case had sent a bailiff to the police station to bring the accused to the courts this morning [Saturday], but the police did not produce them.”
The lawyer claims that Mohammed Shakeel, Shahid’s ex-husband who is also her cousin, was last seen by his family and relatives before going to the police station to submit a pre-arrest bail that he had acquired on 28 July, through his counsel.
“The police did not let him go even though he had pre-arrest bail orders from the court. The police detained him and now they are saying [they] have no idea about where he is,” Arif added.
He further claimed that Shahid’s father and cousin were already in police custody. “They think by keeping them in secret detention they can scare them into confessing something they haven’t done. This is just weakening their case, as any evidence collected in this period will not be admissible in court,” he said.
But Malik Ageel, station house officer (SHO) of the Mangla police station in question, denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of the accused. “We questioned them when they came in but then let them go. They are on the run but we will find them,” he claimed.
The court had been due to hear arguments from both sides on Saturday and was to decide on whether to extend Shakeel’s pre-arrest bail. After the suspects failed to appear, the judge extended Shakeel’s bail until the 13 August and told the SHO to produce him and the rest of the accused to the courts by that date.
The judge also recommended that the lawyer of the accused file a formal complaint of kidnapping against the SHO, so action would be taken against him if he failed to produced the defendant in court by 13 August
Alleged 'honour' killing victim was murdered, Pakistani police confirm
Days after forensic tests by Pakistani police indicated that 28-year-old Samia Shahid was strangled, a lawyer for the three suspects told the court in Jhelum, in Pakistan’s Punjab province, that they were being illegally detained by police.
Advertisement
However, the senior officer in charge of the police station where the murder case has been registered said the trio are on the run.
Shahid’s family has strenuously denied allegations that they killed her and originally claimed she died of a heart attack. The investigation into her death began only after her husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazam, raised the alarm with Shahid’s friends in the UK.
Bradford MP Naz Shah demanded that Pakistani authorities exhume her body and commission an independent postmortem after accusing them of colluding in “a potential cover up” over Shahid’s death.
Mian Mohammad Arif, the lawyer for the accused, has claimed they are being held in “secret detention”. He told the Guardian: “Last night we had submitted a habeas corpus application with the local court and the judge presiding over Samia’s case had sent a bailiff to the police station to bring the accused to the courts this morning [Saturday], but the police did not produce them.”
The lawyer claims that Mohammed Shakeel, Shahid’s ex-husband who is also her cousin, was last seen by his family and relatives before going to the police station to submit a pre-arrest bail that he had acquired on 28 July, through his counsel.
“The police did not let him go even though he had pre-arrest bail orders from the court. The police detained him and now they are saying [they] have no idea about where he is,” Arif added.
He further claimed that Shahid’s father and cousin were already in police custody. “They think by keeping them in secret detention they can scare them into confessing something they haven’t done. This is just weakening their case, as any evidence collected in this period will not be admissible in court,” he said.
But Malik Ageel, station house officer (SHO) of the Mangla police station in question, denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of the accused. “We questioned them when they came in but then let them go. They are on the run but we will find them,” he claimed.
The court had been due to hear arguments from both sides on Saturday and was to decide on whether to extend Shakeel’s pre-arrest bail. After the suspects failed to appear, the judge extended Shakeel’s bail until the 13 August and told the SHO to produce him and the rest of the accused to the courts by that date.
The judge also recommended that the lawyer of the accused file a formal complaint of kidnapping against the SHO, so action would be taken against him if he failed to produced the defendant in court by 13 August
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