Alesha Ahmed, Sister of Murdered Shafilea, Spared Jail Over Armed Robbery

Sister Of Murdered Shafilea Ahmed Spared Jail Over Armed Robbery

The sister of honour killing victim Shafilea Ahmed has been spared jail and given a 12-month suspended sentence for organising a robbery at her parents' house.

Alesha Ahmed's arrest ultimately led to the conviction of her parents, Iftikhar and Farzana, for murdering their eldest daughter.

Shafilea Ahmed (pictured) was murdered by her parents, Iftikhar and Farzana

While being interviewed about the robbery, Alesha, now 24, revealed to detectives for the first time that she and her siblings witnessed Shafilea's murder seven years earlier.

Shafilea, 17, vanished in August 2003 and her decomposed remains were discovered in Cumbria in February 2004 but it was Alesha's statement to police that provided enough evidence to charge the parents, leading to their convictions this year.

She was sentenced to a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, at Southwark Crown Court, in London, on Friday after previously pleading guilty to robbery.

She helped organise the crime at her parents' home in Warrington in August 2010.

Sentencing the 24-year-old, who is in a witness protection scheme, Mr Justice Irwin said: "In my view, this is a case for mercy.

"I bear in mind all of the extraordinary circumstances I have outlined, in particular the truly appalling nature of what you had to witness, the impact this has had on you, and what you went through to be a witness.

"I bear in mind that, despite your undoubted intelligence and despite the help you may be given, your future life will be overshadowed by all that has happened, and it may be a long time before you achieve peace of mind and anything like normality."

He told Ahmed: "Yours is an extraordinary and terrifying story."

He said robbery in the home was a very serious crime and she would have realised it would be a terrying experience and said the normal sentence for an offence of this kind would be a significant jail sentence, even for someone of good character who pleaded guilty.

But he said that although Ahmed's role in the robbery was "crucial", there was a "degree of unreality" about how she behaved.

He said she had been in witness protection for more than two years, adding: "This can properly be compared to house arrest, and I accept it had an especially intense effect on you, since you were psychologically vulnerable, you were in a state of conflict with your family, isolated and away from friends and any ordinary support."

He said Ahmed was not trying to bargain for a lower sentence in giving evidence and had asked to be sentenced before her parents' trial.

Handing her a 12-month prison term, suspended for two years, the judge said she would be supervised by the probation service and will also have to undergo continuing mental health treatment, adding: "I am confident you will not re-offend."

During her parents' trial at Chester Crown Court, Ahmed told the jury they pushed Shafilea on to the settee in their house and she heard her mother say "Just finish it here" as they forced a plastic bag into the teenager's mouth and killed her in front of their other children.

The prosecution said the couple killed their "Westernised" daughter because they thought her behaviour was bringing shame on the family.

Taxi driver Iftikhar, 52, and Farzana, 49, denied murder but were convicted by a jury in August this year and both jailed for 25 years.

Farzana Ahmed is currently seeking to overturn her conviction.

Southwark Crown Court heard that Alesha Ahmed helped organise an armed robbery at the family home in Liverpool Road, Warrington, Cheshire, in August 2010.

Three masked men broke into the house, tying up Farzana Ahmed and three of her children.

They were armed with a gun, a hammer and iron bar and ransacked the property before fleeing with cash and jewellery.

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