Family held over reluctant UK bride’s murder

LONDON: British police investigating the murder of a teenager said on Tuesday they had arrested five members of her family, suspected of having lied to detectives.

The men and women were arrested in Bradford, northern England, on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in connection with the murder of Shafilea Ahmed.

Detectives believe the 17-year-old may have been the victim of an “honour killing” after she resisted her Pakistani parents’ plan for an arranged marriage.

Detective Chief Inspector Geraint Jones, in charge of the Cheshire Constabulary investigation into the murder, said the family members arrested on Tuesday might know the killer.

“I would suggest they have lied for one of two reasons,” Jones said. “Either they know who the killer is and they are covering up, or the simple fact that they don’t want us to pry and speak to people that may cause embarrassment.”

Shafilea’s badly decomposed body was found near a river in the Lake District in northwest England in February after she went missing from her home in September 2003. Forensic examinations ruled out suicide. reuters

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