Father jailed for UK ‘honour killing’
A Muslim businessman has been jailed for life by a British court for the murder of his teenage daughter’s Christian boyfriend.
This is the second case of so-called “honour killings” in the UK in just over a week.
London’s Old Bailey court convicted Mushtaq Ahmad, 40, of killing 22-year-old Albanian Rexhap Hasani after believing his daughter Shadia loved and planned to marry him.
Before Tuesday’s sentencing, the court heard how Ahmad lured Hasani to his factory in east London, where he bound, gagged and beat him up.
Hasani, who was seeking asylum in Britain, was left to slowly suffocate to death.
Prosecutors told the court that Ahmad felt Hasani had damaged his family’s honour by his relationship with Shadia. “The whole idea of her marrying this asylum seeker was contrary to his belief,” said prosecutor Brian Altman.
Police said after the court hearing they hoped the successful conviction would set an example.
Similar cases investigated
Last Tuesday, Abd Allah Yunis, an Iraqi Kurd who has lived in Britain for 10 years, was also jailed for life after he repeatedly stabbed and slit the throat of his 16-year-old daughter Heshu because she was dating a Christian boyfriend.
Scotland Yard police headquarters has now set up a special squad to investigate such murders touted as ‘honour killings’. It has already identified more than a dozen such crimes.