Parents quizzed over girl's murder

DETECTIVES investigating the suspected honour killing of a Yorkshire-born schoolgirl were last night questioning her parents on suspicion of her murder.

The decomposed remains of Muslim teenager Shafilea Ahmed, who was born in Bradford, were found on a riverbank in Cumbria in February 2004.

The 17-year-old, who hoped to become a solicitor, had disappeared from her home in Warrington, Cheshire, five months earlier after refusing an arranged marriage.

Shafilea’s father, Iftikhar, and mother, Farzana, were initially arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, but they were released without charge after the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was insufficient evidence.

Police sources confirmed that the couple were re-arrested yesterday morning and were being interviewed on suspicion of murdering their daughter.

The couple have always denied any involvement in her death and said they would never have forced her into a marriage she did not want.

A spokeswoman for Cheshire Police confirmed that a 50-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman were in custody.

After a four-day inquest in January 2008, the coroner for East and South Cumbria, Ian Smith, concluded that Shafilea had been the victim of “a very vile murder”.

The hearing in Kendal was told that, during a trip to Pakistan to meet a prospective husband, Shafilea had refused an arranged marriage and had drunk bleach, causing injuries which left her hospitalised for five weeks. She was last seen alive a few months later, doing her homework at home on September 11, 2003. A week passed before she was reported missing by a former school teacher.

Mr Ahmed said he did not report her missing because police dismissed his previous reports that she had disappeared in November 2002 and January 2003.

Shafilea also ran away for 10 days in February 2003 when she told housing officers: “My parents are going to send me to Pakistan and I’ll be married to someone and left there.”

In his inquest evidence, Mr Ahmed told the hearing that such an arrangement needed the consent of the boy and girl.

He said he accepted his daughter’s reply of “no way” when a potential suitor was mentioned.

Shafilea’s body was discovered after heavy floods washed away the dense undergrowth where it was hidden on the banks of the River Kent at Sedgwick, Cumbria, in February 2004.

The coroner, recording a verdict of unlawful killing, said he believed the arranged marriage was “central” to the circumstances leading to her death.

“I believe she was taken from her home,” Mr Smith said. “I do not believe she ran away.”

Friends and family members who gave evidence at the inquest described Shafilea as a “Westernised” teenager pulled in different directions by her Islamic upbringing and her love of R&B music and British fashion.

Shafilea’s form tutor at school, Gill Power, told the inquest that her studies suffered because, as eldest daughter, she was made to take on many household duties.

The seven-year police investigation has studied many areas of Shafilea’s life, including disagreements with her family.

Eight of Shafilea’s relatives from Bradford were arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, but they were released without charge.

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