Man handed life sentence for murdering niece in Bradford
Mohammed Taroos Khan, 53, must serve at least 25 years in prison
A man's been jailed for life for murdering his niece in Bradford.
Mohammed Taroos Khan, 53, killed Somaiya Begum, 20, in an attack at her home in Binnie Street, Bradford, on June 25 last year, before dumping her body on waste ground where it was found 11 days later.
She had been living at the property with another of her uncles and her grandmother under the terms of a forced marriage protection order, following attempts by her father, Mohammed Yaseen Khan, to force her to marry a cousin from Pakistan "by threat of violence", a jury heard.
Sentencing Khan to life in prison at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday, Mr Justice Garnham said: "It is not possible to identify a motive for this dreadful attack by you on an innocent young woman.
"It is said you did not support her forced marriage to the cousin in Pakistan.
"It is said you did not share the view of your brother, Yaseen, about the role of women or the obligation of Somaiya to obey her father.
"Moreover, it is pure speculation to consider whether this murder was part of some appalling family agreement.
"All that matters for present purposes is that the jury have found you guilty of the heinous crime of murder.
"I decline to speculate on your motive and I reject the prosecution's suggestion that I should treat this as any form of so-called honour killing."
The judge described Miss Begum as "an intelligent young woman of real spirit and courage" and recalled that her uncle, Dawood Khan, had referred to her in court as the "light of his life".
The jury heard that Miss Begum's family had already been split in two by a previous dispute before her father's attempts to force her to marry when she was 16.
The court heard that she had lived under strict conditions as a teenager with her mother and father but, after she went to the police over the forced marriage threat and secured the protection order, she was happy living in Binnie Street.
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Marc Bowes from the Homicide and Major Enquiry team said:
“Somaiya was a bright, young woman who was studying to get a degree, had a part time job to support herself and was happy and content with home life.
“She had her whole life ahead of her and it was cruelly cut short by her Uncle, someone who is meant to love, care and protect her.
“Khan subjected Somaiya to a horrendous attack for reasons only known to him.
“Khan went to extreme lengths to cover up his crime, he dumped her body in wasteland showing complete disregard and disrespect for human life, with the hope that her body would never be found.
“Somaiya will never get the life she was meant to lead; Khan stole that life and he will now be spending a significant time in prison for his violent actions.
“Although this conviction and sentence will never bring Somaiya back, I hope that it gives her friends and family some comfort in knowing they have got justice for her.”