Parents found guilty of murdering Shafilea Ahmed (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Parents found guilty of murdering Shafilea Ahmed

1:13pm Friday 3rd August 2012 in News

AFTER almost nine years of lies, deception and deceit the parents of Shafilea Ahmed have been found guilty of her murder.

Today at Chester Crown Court Iftikhar Ahmed, aged 52, and Farzana Ahmed, aged 49, were convicted unanimously of killing the 17-year-old after an 11-week trial.

They were sentenced to life imprisonment and must each serve a minimum term of 25 years.

Shafilea was murdered in the lounge of her family home on Liverpool Road, Great Sankey, Warrington, on September 11, 2003, because she was determined to lead a Western lifestyle.

Her body was then driven to south Cumbria and dumped in a gorge next to the River Kent, Sedgwick.

Both Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed have always denied killing the former Great Sankey High School pupil.

They claimed she ran away from home on the night she was murdered.

However, they did not report her missing.

Joanne Code, a teacher at Great Sankey High School, notified police that Shafilea had disappeared.

The former Priestley College student’s decomposed remains were found five months later in February 2004.

But the lies of the two defendants were uncovered after daughter Alesha Ahmed staged an armed robbery at the family home in August 2010, for which she was arrested.

The 23-year-old, who is currently in witness protection, gave evidence to say she witnessed her parents kill Shafilea and that her siblings were also present.

During the trial letters written in 2008 by Shafilea’s younger sister Mevish were read out.

In them she also described witnessing the murder.

She also talked of how Mr and Mrs Ahmed had regularly beaten and abused Shafilea for talking to boys.

But when the 21-year-old was called to give evidence by Mr Justice Roderick Evans, she claimed they were fictional stories she had made up.

Proceedings then took a dramatic twist on July 9 when Mrs Ahmed changed her statement, blaming her husband for the murder.

Today the jury convicted both parents for the teenager’s death.