Trial opens in UK national Samia Shahid’s murder case
- By Web Desk -
- Sep 27, 2016
Defence lawyer Mohammed Arif said that the court delivered copies of the charge sheet to the victim’s father, Mohammad Shahid and ex-husband, Mohammad Shakeel.
Shahid and Shakeel are accused of killing Samia Shahid, 28, a beautician from Bradford.
They must decide by October 7 if they plead guilty or not guilty before the judge said the defence lawyer and added both men were present in the court.
The Victim’s father Mohammad Shahid spoke to reporters as he appeared at a pre-trial hearing last week, denying all charges.
“We will contest the case,” the defence lawyer said on Tuesday, suggesting the accused may plead not guilty.
Must Read: I request UK, Pakistan to hold fair trial, says Samia Shahid’s husband
When news of Samia Shahid’s murder surfaced on the mainstream media, her family had initially claimed she had died of natural reasons during her July trip to Pakistan. However, her second husband Mukhtar Kazim later complained to police.
A police investigation concluded that Shahid’s ex-husband raped her before he along with Samia Shahid’s father strangled her. It described the killing as “premeditated, cold-blooded murder.”
The investigation also implicated the victim’s mother, Imtiaz Bibi, and sister, Madiha Shahid – both British nationals – in the murder for luring Samia Shahid into the murder plot.
Shahid married her first husband in February 2012 but stayed only briefly in Pakistan before returning to England where she obtained a divorce two years later.
Later, she married Mukhtar Kazim and moved with him to Dubai but her family never accepted the second marriage.