Murder of Samaira Nazir

Samaira was born circa 1979 to Azhar Nazir, Sr. and Irshad Begum. Described as "the brightest of the family", she studied travel and tourism at Thames Valley University, taking a directorship role at her brother's recruitment consultancy business following graduation. The Nazir family also owned the Rana Brothers Grocery store in Southall Broadway where Samaira's brother, Azhar Nazir, worked and first met Salman Mohammed. Mohammed had arrived in the United Kingdom from Afghanistan as an illegal immigrant in 2000 and had approached Nazir for help finding accommodation and work. Samaira met Mohammed through his involvement with her brother; their relationship developed over several years, but knowing that Samaira's family would not approve, they kept the relationship a secret until, ultimately, they fell in love and decided they wanted to marry. Additionally, he'd already contracted a marriage of convenience to support his immigration status and Samaira's brother claimed he was dishonest and involved in illegal activities. Regardless, in March 2005, Samaira told her family that she was engaged to Mohammed; Mohammed claimed that Samaira's father had threatened him with a knife and that her brother had threatened to kill them both as a result of their engagement. ==Murder and investigation==

On 23 April 2005, Mohammed and Samaira had attempted to meet with her mother away from the family home, but her mother refused; Nazir then instructed Samaira to return home, where he, her father and mother were waiting for her. She was stabbed multiple times and her throat was slashed in what was described as a "prolonged and frenzied attack". The police and prosecutors were not convinced and suspected that Mohammed had been instructed to kill Samaira by other members of the family, with prosecutor Nazir Afzal stating: "We knew there was a wider web of guilt (...) We had to break the omertà, the code of silence. We knew the people involved would not talk." Both were charged, but Nazir Sr. was released on bail and fled to Pakistan before the trial. The family claimed that he later died there, but the police were sceptical. ==Legal proceedings==

Azhar Franklin Nazir and Imran Mohammed stood trial at the Central Criminal Court, with Nazir maintaining his innocence and Mohammed using the partial defence of diminished responsibility. The prosecution's case was one of joint enterprise. by an 11-1 majority verdict. On 14 July 2006, both were sentenced to life imprisonment; Mohammed was detained at Her Majesty's pleasure for a minimum of 10 years and Nazir received a minimum tariff of 20 years. who was responsible for the prosecution, stated: John Reid, a Detective Inspector from the Metropolitan Police who worked on the case, said, "There is nothing at all honourable about her brutal death." ==See also==