Shafilea AhmedA coroner has ruled the death of Shafilea Ahmed, the Muslim teenager who disappeared after refusing a marriage arranged by her parents, a homicide.  Her decomposed body was found next to a river in February 2004, five months after she went missing from her family home.

A coroner this morning returned a verdict of unlawful killing on a Muslim teenager who vanished from home after refusing an arranged marriage, saying she was the victim of a "very vile" murder.

Ian Smith, East and South Cumbria coroner, said the way Shafilea Ahmed's body had been hidden in a riverbank miles from home convinced him she was murdered, and said she probably died shortly after going missing.
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Miss Ahmed, 17, disappeared four months after being taken to Pakistan by her parents to meet a potential husband. She refused to go ahead with the ceremony and even drank bleach in protest.

Mr Smith said that the possibility of an arranged marriage was “central” to the circumstances surrounding her death. He also criticised Shafilea’s mother Farzana Ahmed for saying that the police investigation had been inadequate.

Mrs Ahmed told the hearing in Kendal that she was not happy with Cheshire Police's handling of the case.

She said: "It is more than four years. What have they been doing? Is it not the police's job to find out what has happened to my child?

The coroner pointed out the police were informed of Shafilea’s disappearance, not by her parents, but by a school teacher—seven days after she went missing.

Mr Smith cast doubt on the veracity of testimony from Mian Khan, a family member who claimed to be Shafilea’s grandfather.

Mian Khan said in evidence on the second day of the inquest that Shafilea's father, Iftikhar, was his son, but his claim was questioned by a police solicitor.

Mr Khan declined to reply when asked if he had told the truth about Iftikhar Ahmed being his son.

He also declined to answer when it was suggested by John Bassett, solicitor acting for Cheshire and Cumbria Police, if he had taken an affirmation rather than an oath on the Koran because "you are not prepared to lie about your relationship with Iftikhar Ahmed after taking the oath on the Koran?"

Coroner Ian Smith said today: "I have to say there is some justification for that accusation."

A police superintendent stated his belief that Mian Khan is in fact Shafilea’s uncle.

Following the coroner’s decision, police vowed to pursue their investigation and apprehend Shafilea’s killer(s).

A timeline of her life and death is posted here.

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