Death of Samia Shahid

Described as "a jolly, bubbly person, (who) always had a smile on her face", Samia Shahid was from Manningham, Bradford. She attended Nab Wood School and went on to work in a variety of sales roles while doing make-up artistry as a hobby.{{cite news |title=Boris Johnson urged to step in after Bradford woman died amid claims of 'honour killing' |url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14642298.naz-shah-meets-west-yorkshire-police-over-death-in-pakistan-of-samia-shahid-of-oak-lane-manningham/ |work=Bradford Telegraph and Argus |date=27 July 2016 |language=en}}

In 2012, Samia was married to her cousin, Shakeel, in a match arranged by their parents. The wedding was celebrated in Pakistan, where most members of the family reside, and the wedding photographs show a beaming and apparently happy bride. Following the wedding, Samia returned to live in Bradford, while her husband remained in Pakistan, pending the processing of his immigration papers. In 2013, Samia met Syed Mukhtar Kazim and they fell in love with each other. In 2014, she converted from the Sunni sect to the Shia sect of Islam and obtained an ex-parte divorce from Shakeel from the Islamic Sharia Council of UK (which has no legal authority in the UK).{{cite news |last1=Pidd |first1=Helen |last2=Boone |first2=Jon |title='I have to get justice for her': was this British woman a victim of 'honour' killing? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/29/friends-fear-british-woman-was-tricked-and-murdered-in-honour-killing |work=The Guardian |date=29 July 2016}} Shortly afterwards, she married Kazim in Leeds and moved to Dubai with him.{{cite news |title=British 'honor killing' victim Samia Shahid sent tragic text to friend before she was raped and killed |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/samia-shahid-honour-killing-pakistan-violence-against-women-murder-crime-a7232271.html |work=The Independent |date=8 September 2016 |language=en}}

Samia's family did not approve of these actions. They asserted that her divorce was not valid since the Islamic Sharia Council has no legal authority either in the UK or in Pakistan. Therefore, they said, she was still legally married to Shakeel, and her so-called second marriage was a "sham" amounting to adultery. Kazim claimed that Samia had been threatened by her family over their relationship and West Yorkshire Police confirmed that she had been subjected to verbal harassment by at least one family member (her mother) before she moved to Dubai.{{cite news |title=Woman who died in Pakistan 'was killed' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-36898401 |work=BBC News |date=26 July 2016}} Immediately after she moved to Dubai, Samia's parents reported her as a missing person to the local police, rather than accepting that she was living life on her own terms.{{cite news |title=UK to 'consider' help request in Samia Shahid murder case |url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/110746-UK-to-consider-help-request-in-Samia-Shahid-murder-case |work=Geo News |date=4 August 2016}} The police opened a missing person investigation, and contacted, among others, the Shia cleric from the Islamic Sharia Council of UK who had issued an ex-parte divorce. That Shia cleric later claimed that he was abused on the phone by her family members,{{cite news |last1=Iqbal |first1=Sajid |title=Cleric 'threatened over honour victim' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-36981662 |work=BBC News |date=5 August 2016}} and passed on a recording of these abuses to the Police in 2014.{{cite news |last1=Norfolk |first1=Andrew |title='Honour killing fears had been passed on to police' |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/honour-killing-fears-had-been-passed-on-to-police-vdq0gkb2l |work=The Times |date=5 August 2016 |url-access=subscription |language=en}} On a visit to Bradford in 2015, Samia attended a meeting with family members accompanied by a police chaperone; the meeting was fraught and an official warning for verbal harassment was issued to one of her relatives (her mother) as a result.

In July 2016, Samia received a telephone call claiming that her father was critically ill in Pakistan. She flew to Islamabad airport against the advice of Kazim, her "second husband," who believed that the claims were untrue. He stated “Obviously, I could see it was a lie.” He was worried about her safety and begged her not to go.

The day before Samia was due to return home to Dubai, Kazim stated that the "constant stream of instant messages" she'd been sending suddenly ceased.

Samia was found dead in her cousin's home on 20 July 2016.

Initially there were conflicting reports on the cause of Samia's death. According to Kazim, her cousin Mobeen told him over the telephone that she'd died of a heart attack. Local press agencies reported that Samia had committed suicide as a result of depression over not having children, a report which her family denied. Kazim maintained that Samia had been murdered by her family in an "honour" killing because they rejected her second marriage.

Samia's uncle, Haq Nawaz, obtained a death certificate from the "local union council", told Police that she'd died of "natural causes"{{cite news |title=Samia Shahid's uncle arrested for falsifying medical files |url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/09/05/samia-shahids-uncle-arrested-for-falsifying-medical-files/ |work=Pakistan Today |date=5 September 2016}} and had her remains buried the same day.{{cite news |title='˜Lessons to be learned to end honour crimes abuse' |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/lessons-be-learned-end-honour-crimes-abuse-336097 |work=Yorkshire Post |date=3 March 2018 |language=en}}

Investigating police officer, Aqeel Abbas, told The Guardian that there were "no signs of external physical injury" to Samia's body.

The autopsy, however, noted bruising around her neck and that, along with the forensic examination, concluded that she'd been raped and strangled.

Fearing "a potential cover-up", Samia's constituency MP, Naz Shah, wrote to Pakistani authorities and also spoke to Syed Ibne Abbas, then Pakistan's High commissioner to the United Kingdom. Shah stated: “I have asked for the police officer and the physician who did the first postmortem to be investigated.”{{cite news |title=Bradford MP accuses Pakistani officials of potential cover-up in 'honour killing' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/28/naz-shah-bradford-mp-accuses-pakistani-officials-of-samia-shahid-cover-up |work=The Guardian |date=28 July 2016 |language=en}} Following Shah's intervention, two Bradford-based individuals were arrested over alleged threats made towards her.{{cite news |agency=Press Association |title=Second person arrested over alleged threats to Labour MP Naz Shah |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/27/second-person-arrested-over-alleged-threats-to-labour-mp-naz-shah |work=The Guardian |date=27 July 2016}}

On the basis of Kazim's allegations, and following the intervention of Shah, an in-depth investigation was ordered and the chief minister of Punjab arranged a "special committee" of leading police officers to prepare a report.

Subsequently, the original lead investigator, Abbas, was suspended from duty for "mishandling" the case and for allowing Samia's mother and sister to leave Pakistan and then arrested for "concealing evidence".

Samia's uncle, Nawaz, having allegedly obtained the death certificate before the forensic examination had concluded, was arrested on suspicion of falsifying medical files.{{cite news |title=Uncle arrested in 'honour killing' case |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-37267095 |work=BBC News |date=3 September 2016}}{{cite news |title=Relatives of murdered British woman arrested in Pakistan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/03/relatives-murdered-british-woman-samia-shahid-arrested-pakistan |work=The Guardian |date=3 September 2016 |language=en}} Samia's father, Muhammad Shahid, and ex-husband, Shakeel, were arrested by Jhelum police and held on remand.{{cite news |title=Samia Shahid murder case: Accused's family seeks case over 'illegal second marriage' |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1170627/samia-shahid-murder-case-accuseds-family-seeks-case-illegal-second-marriage |work=The Express Tribune |date=26 August 2016 |language=en}}

On 14 August 2016, police stated that Shakeel confessed to strangling Samia.{{cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1161921/ex-husband-confesses-killing-samia-shahid-honour/|title=Ex-husband confesses to killing Samia Shahid for honour|date=14 August 2016|website=Express Tribune|author1=Arshad Shaheen|author2=Raja Nobahar|access-date=12 September 2016}}

Abubakar Buksh, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, led the fresh investigation which alleged, in conclusion, that Samia's death was a “premeditated and cold-blooded honour killing”. He stated: "We have completed our investigation and concluded that her ex-husband Muhammad Shakeel and father Muhammad Shahid were involved in her killing." Buksh also stated that Shakeel had been charged with raping her.{{cite web|last1=Altaf|first1=Arsalan|title=British woman raped before being killed for 'honour' in Pakistan|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1175262/british-woman-raped-killed-honour-pakistan/|website=Express Tribune|access-date=12 September 2016|date=3 September 2016}}

According to the report, a day before reaching Islamabad, Samia sent a text message to her friend saying that she was in fear for her life.{{cite web|title=British woman killed for 'honour' sent tragic text before death|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1179238/british-woman-killed-honour-sent-tragic-text-death/|website=Express Tribune|access-date=12 September 2016|date=9 September 2016}}

{{Quote box

|quote = “Pray I come bk alive on 21jul my psyco cuzzan u see”

|source = — Text message sent by Samia Shahid to her friend

|width = 30em

}}

Upon arrival, she had a childhood friend - as opposed to her family - collect her from the airport, leaving her passport and return ticket with them for security.

The report claimed that Samia's father and ex-husband wanted her to stay in Pakistan and renounce her second marriage. On the day before she was due to leave, Shakeel demanded her passport and plane ticket and, when she refused, he attacked her. She managed to run out of the room, telling him that she would go to the British authorities, at which point he allegedly strangled her with her scarf while Shahid held her legs.

It was further claimed that Shakeel was angry with Samia because the divorce impeded his chance of moving to the United Kingdom and becoming a British citizen and that Shahid intended to pardon his nephew if he had been charged with Samia's murder under the Diyya law of Pakistan.{{cite news |last1=Boone |first1=Jon |title=Samia Shahid's father allegedly hoped to use blood money laws to get away with murder |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/06/samia-shahid-father-alleged-hoped-to-use-blood-money-laws-to-get-away-with |work=The Guardian |date=6 September 2016 |language=en}}

Muhammad Shahid was held in custody from July 2016 until being granted bail by Lahore High Court in December 2016; the court deemed that the evidence presented was insufficient to justify holding him on remand. He died in a Lahore hospital in January 2018 at the age of 52.

Abbas and Hawaz were bailed on payment of a bond in September 2016.{{cite news |title=Bail denied in 'honour killing' case |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-37327523 |work=BBC News |date=10 September 2016}}

In October 2016, arrest warrants were issued for Samia's mother and sister and Pakistani authorities declared them "proclaimed offenders".{{cite news |title='Honour killing' arrest warrants issued |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-37810626 |work=BBC News |date=29 October 2016}}{{cite news |title=Pakistan police seek Samia Shahid's mother and sister over her death |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/29/pakistan-police-seek-samia-shahid-mother-and-sister-over-her-death |work=The Guardian |date=29 October 2016 |language=en}}

In, or around, September 2018, Shakeel was released on bail.{{cite news |title=MP's call for 'honour killing' intervention |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-45494325 |work=BBC News |date=12 September 2018}}

Although reportedly admitting strangling Samia, confessions given to police are not admissible as evidence in Pakistan.{{cite news |title=Legal worries over ex-husband's 'confession to honour killing' |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/legal-worries-over-ex-husbands-confession-to-honour-killing-wx00bpgxw |work=The Times |url-access=subscription |date=17 August 2016 |language=en}}

On 25 July 2020, in the absence of visible progress, Naz Shah wrote to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, asking for ‘justice to finally be served’ in Samia's case.

In August 2016, members of Samia's family in Pakistan sought criminal charges against Samia and Syed Kazam, accusing them of polyandry; it was claimed that documents had been forged, and Samia's ex-husband had been impersonated, in order for them to get married in the United Kingdom. They wanted Kazam, and others, to be charged with "impersonation, fraud, and fornication". Calling it an "attempt to derail" the murder trial, The Guardian quoted the family's lawyer as stating: "“In the witness box, if he comes and testifies, it will be very easy for us as defence counsels to shackle the credibility of that witness. If we show he was lying in one context he may not be believed in another context.” He added that the family hoped that seeking criminal charges would stop Kazam from returning to Pakistan to give evidence.{{cite news |title=Samia Shahid: family force Pakistani police to investigate marriage |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/22/samia-shahid-family-force-marriage-inquiry-in-bid-to-derail-trial |work=The Guardian |date=22 November 2016 |language=en}} A case was registered on 16 November 2016 citing fraud and forgery.{{cite news |title='Forgery' case registered against Samia Shahid, second husband |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1236329/forgery-case-registered-samia-shahid-second-husband |work=The Express Tribune |date=19 November 2016 |language=en}}

In September 2016, the BBC reported that a complaint of bigamy had earlier been made to West Yorkshire Police; the resultant report ascertained that Samia's divorce from Shakeel was not valid in the United Kingdom.{{cite news |title=Father dismisses 'honour killing' claim |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-37395335 |work=BBC News |date=17 September 2016}} It was claimed that Samia had presented herself as single when registering her second marriage and hadn't mentioned her previous marriage and divorce. West Yorkshire Police stated: “with the death of Samia it is not in the public interest to pursue this inquiry as the alleged Bigamist cannot be spoken to or brought to trial should it have progressed that far and the Crown Prosecution Service has also stated that there was no case to answer as the subject of bigamy is deceased.” In response Gujrat jurist, Chaudhary Latif Langrial, said that the report wouldn't have any effect on the murder trial, or change the status of Kazam; adding that Samia's alleged "false statement of being single" wouldn't exculpate anyone involved in her murder.{{cite news |last1=Butt |first1=Waseem Ashraf |title=West Yorkshire police report 'not to affect' Samia case |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1291915 |work=DAWN.COM |date=24 October 2016 |language=en}}

In March 2017, members of Samia's family presented a petition to Lahore High Court seeking to stop the release of a documentary about her murder and the ensuing legal action. The petition was dismissed.{{cite news |title=Samia Shahid murder case: LHC dismisses plea to stop coverage |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1354353/samia-shahid-murder-case-lhc-dismisses-plea-stop-coverage |work=The Express Tribune |date=14 March 2017 |language=en}}

On 21 February 2018, the documentary Murdered for Love? Samia Shahid was screened on BBC Two.{{cite web |title=Murdered for Love? Samia Shahid |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qjltw |website=www.bbc.co.uk}} Produced and directed by Sasha Achilli,{{cite web |last1=Achilli |first1=Sasha |title=Murdered for Love Pre Title |url=http://sasha-achilli.com/murdered.html |website=sasha-achilli.com |date=2018}} it draws on interviews with some of Samia's closest friends, her second husband Syed Mukhtar Kazim, Naz Shah and some of those involved in the murder investigation in Pakistan.{{cite news |title=Documentary to be shown on alleged Bradford 'honour killing' victim |url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/16033506.documentary-to-be-shown-on-alleged-bradford-honour-killing-victim-samia-shahid/ |work=Bradford Telegraph and Argus |date=19 February 2018 |language=en}} Writing in The Times, James Jackson, said the documentary was "loaded with unequivocal anger" and served as a reminder that "there are those in this world who think that it’s somehow honourable for a man to rape his wife and to murder her, but not for that wife to have had a thought for herself regarding her romantic life".{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=James |title=TV review: Murdered For Love? Samia Shahid; Damned |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/tv-review-murdered-for-love-samia-shahid-damned-jjbjsk3lh |work=The Times |date=22 February 2018 |language=en}}

• Honour killing in Pakistan
• 2012 Kohistan video case
• Murder of Farzana Parveen
• Samia Sarwar
• Ayman Udas
• Qandeel Baloch

• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09qjltw/murdered-for-love-samia-shahidBBC Documentary: Murdered for Love? Samia Shahid]

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Category:2016 deaths

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Category:Violence against women in Pakistan