BIRMINGHAM MAN JAILED FOR A MINIMUM OF 15 YEARS OVER PREGNANT DAUGHTER IN LAWS MURDER
A man named Zia Ul-Haq 51 from Birmingham, was convicted of murdering his pregnant daughter in law, Naila Mumtaz, 21, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.The court heard that his son Mohammed claimed his wife tried to self-strangle in 2009.
He was found guilty after a trial.
The Birmingham Crown Court was told that Mrs.
Mumtaz was killed during attempts by the family members to render her unconscious while trying to drive out a supposed harmful spirit called 'djinn.' The body of Naila Mumtaz, who was six months pregnant at the time and had moved to the UK from Pakistan in 2008 following an arranged marriage, was found by paramedics in their home in Handsworth Wood on July 8, 2009.
The court heard that her in-laws believed she was possessed by spirits and that she was killed to rid her of the perceived 'djinn.' The judge sentenced Zia Ul-Haq to a minimum terms of 15 years.
The family had believed that Naila was involved in another man’s child or possessed by spirits sent from Pakistan, which motivated the violence.
During sentencing, the judge stated that Naila was her parents' only daughter and her death 'left a terrible gap in their lives.' The case was marked by tragic evidence of cultural beliefs leading to violence, and the court described her murder as a betrayal by her own family.
