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Trio guilty of ‘honour killing’

Three Oxford residents have been found guilty of
stabbing to death Brookes student Arash Ghorani-Zarin. Chomir
Ali, a Bangladeshi waiter, and his two sons Mujibar Rahman (19), and Mamnoor
Rahman (16), committed murder after Ali’s daughter Manna Begum fell pregnant
with the victim’s child. Nineteen year old Arash Ghorani-Zarin was found dead
in his car on Rose Hill with 46 stab wounds on 20 November last year. The
relationship angered Manna’s father Ali as she had been arranged to marry
someone else. The
jury at Oxford Crown Court took four and a half days to reach a decision and
there were loud cheers in the court as the verdicts were read out. The judge,
Mr Justice Gross, said the defendants would incur life imprison­ment but
sentencing was adjourned while a pre-sentence report on the youngest defendant,
just fifteen at the time of murder and deemed by his lawyer to be “in denial”,
was prepared. Detective
Chief Inspector Steve Tolmie of Thames Valley Police’s Major Crime Team said,
“The murder of Arash Ghorbani-Zarin was a horrific, violent attack on an
innocent young man who had a lot to live for. No one has the right to take away
someone’s life, for whatever reason.”The
Oxford Brookes Student Union President, John Lucas, said he was "up­set"
by what had happened but stated, "The University has an independent Advice
Centre, a Counselling and Advisory Service, and an ecumenical Chaplaincy, all
of whom work on an appointment or drop-in based system. They are all open to
all students, of all faiths."Imran
Haq, who sits on the ISoc Committee, said there is a framework within Shariah,
or Islamic religious law, which delineates exactly how to deal with such a
situation in a proper manner which is fair and just for all concerned, and that
such practices as “honour killings” are “categorically forbidden”. He added,
“Such indi­viduals are nothing but straightforward murderers, and this concept
of ‘honour killing’ is nothing but a guise, allowing religion or culture to be
used as a means for justification.”ARCHIVE: 5th week MT 2005

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