Shafilea's Father 'Hit Her On Last Night'

Shafelia Ahmed's mother has told the jury at her murder trial she saw her husband hitting and slapping Shafelia on the last night she was seen alive.

Farzana Ahmed has been giving evidence at her trial at Chester Crown Court. She has been sitting in the witness box next to her translator and giving her responses in Pubjabi. She and her husband, Iftikhar, deny murdering their 17-year-old daughter.

Mrs Ahmed said on the evening of September 11th 2003 she came downstairs and saw her husband hitting Shafilea in the kitchen of their home in Warrington. 

She told the jury: "he slapped her twice and punched her twice". She said he was saying to their daughter: "we have done so much for you and you're still messing about".

Mrs Ahmed said she asked her husband what Shafilea had done and he responded, "had you been educated you'd have known what she was doing".

She says she tried to stop him but he had pushed and punched her. "He's very angry. I've never seen him so angry," she told the court.

She said her daughter Mevish then came into the room and tried to stop her father but Mrs Ahmed says she pushed Mevish away and took her upstairs because she was scared he would hit Mevish too.

Mrs Ahmed says when she came back downstairs her husband and Shafilea were gone. She said when he returned between 6 and 6.30am the following morning she asked where Shafilea was and he said, "if you care about your life and your children's lives do not ask me that question again."

She said Iftikhar had told her and the children that if anyone asked about Shafilea they should say she left the house by herself.

Mrs Ahmed was speaking very quietly in court; at times her responses were barely audible. Her husband watched with no expression on his face as she made her claims.

She says she was frightened of her husband and claimed "my husband beats me up". She said it had been going on since they were married.

Until last week Mrs Ahmed had always given the same version of events as her husband. She admitted she had lied to police and told the jury she had been saying what her husband had told her to say.

She said she only changed her story because she is in prison and so is her husband and she felt safe.

Previously another of their daughters, Alesha, has told the jury she witnesses both her parents suffocate Shafelia with a plastic bag and claimed her mother said "just finish it here". Alesha said both parents had been violent towards Shafelia during arguments over her'western' lifestyle.

Under cross examination it was put to Mrs Ahmed that she could see her "husband's lies were getting nowhere". Andrew Edis QC said to her "you decided to dump him and save yourself by telling new lies". Mrs Ahmed insisted she was now telling the truth.

Iftikhar Ahmed denies her claims.

The trial continues.