Murder of Shafilea Ahmed

Shafilea Iftikhar Ahmed (14 July 1986 – 11 September 2003) was a 17-year-old British Pakistani girl from Great Sankey, Warrington, Cheshire, who was murdered by her parents Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed. They were imprisoned for a minimum of 25 years each in 2012. The possibility of others having helped them to dispose of her body was raised; after the trial, the Chief Executive of the Bradford Council for Mosques encouraged anybody with information about the case to come forward, and said his group would help police.

Background

Shafilea Ahmed was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, to Pakistani parents, and attended Great Sankey High School. She was an A-Level student who hoped to become a solicitor. During a trip to Pakistan earlier in 2003, Shafilea swallowed bleach in what was later reported to be a suicide attempt. Her father claimed however, that it was a mistake: she had drunk it during a power cut, thinking it was a bottle of fruit juice. Shafilea suffered extensive damage to her throat for which she was having regular ongoing care at the time of her disappearance. According to media reports, Shafilea had turned down a suitor in an arranged marriage during the trip, although her parents denied there being any attempts made to pressure her into agreeing to the marriage.