The brother of Harry Potter actress Afshan Azad has been jailed for six months after pleading guilty to brutally beating the actress because she was dating a non-Muslim.
by Jonathon M. Seidl
(Read our original report on this story below.)
**UPDATE** Afshan, 22, was beaten last year, called a “whore,” and reportedly threatened with death after her family found out she was seeing a young Hindu man. Reuters reports the beating also included being punched, dragged around by her hair, and strangled by her 28-year-old brother Ashraf Azad.
The assault took place at the family’s home in Manchester, England. After the assault, both the brother and the father were found not guilty of making death threats, but Ashraf pleaded guilty to one count of assault.
Reuters says Afshan, who now lives in London, asked the judge in the case not to send her brother to jail. But judge Roger Thomas ignored that request, and instead sent Ashraf to prison for six months after he pleaded guilty.
“This persistent attack was accompanied by serious and very hurtful abuse and threats,” the judge told Ashraf in court.
“The background to this offense lies in the concern that you, and perhaps other family members, had about Afshan’s relationship with a young man who was not of the Islamic faith.”
Afshan played a classmate of Harry Potter in several of the blockbuster Hollywood films.
**Original Report**
Harry Potter Actress Beaten, Called a Prostitute by Family for Seeing Non-Muslim
Afshan Azad, the 22-year-old British actress who portrayed Padma Patil, a classmate of Harry Potter in the blockbuster Hollywood films, was reportedly beaten, called a ‘whore’ and threatened with death by members of her own family after dating a young, non-Muslim man.
According to the UK’s Daily Mail, the young actress was assaulted and called a ‘prostitute’ after she met with a young Hindu man — a potential relationship that apparently angered her father and brother. After her family members threatened to kill her, Azad reportedly fled the family’s home through her bedroom window. The movie star is apparently so frightened of her brother and father, she has refused to confront them in court.
Both men were charged with making threats to kill her and her brother was also charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm on his sister.
Instead of both going on trial today, the prosecution decided to accept a guilty plea of assault by her brother, and both men were formally found not guilty of making threats to kill. …
Richard Vardon QC, prosecuting, told the court: ‘The incident took place on Saturday 21 of May at the home address of the family in Longsight, Manchester.
‘The prosecution allegation in essence is she was the victim of a wholly unnecessary and unpleasant assault by her brother.
‘The reason for the assault, apparently her association with a Hindu young man, that apparently being disapproved of by her family who are Muslim.
‘Specifically she spoke not only of assault but also threats to kill, made jointly by her father and brother.’
According to the prosecutor, the father was awoken by his son when he shouted, “Sort out your daughter! She’s a slag (slang for ‘whore’)!”
‘[The brother] continued to further assault her, in disputed Bengali, shouting, “Just kill her!”
‘The assault continued. There was a discussion where she was being called a prostitute.’
The threats to kill her apparently continued, the witness told police in a statement.
Reading from the victim’s statement, Mr Vardon added: ‘My father began saying he would do it, a reference to kill her, as he did not want his sons to have her blood on their hands and he would do time for it.
‘Then she began to feel very scared.
‘Having gone to the police in respect of these matters she made a statement to the police on 22nd of May.
‘Part of her version of events was that he was going to force the complainant into a forced marriage of some sort.’
But, according to the prosecutor’s report, the young actress was too afraid of her own family members to press formal assault charges:
After going to police she ‘made it plain’ to officers and lawyers that she did not want any action taken against her family, or the arrest of her father or brother otherwise it would put her in ‘genuine danger’.
‘She came to police for help and support, and the arrest of her family members would not be of assistance,’ Mr Vardon added.
The prosecutor said she later made ‘retraction statements’ to police and reiterated her lack of willingness to support any prosecution.
She also ‘put a gloss’ on her father’s words by saying she found it hard to understand his heavy Bengali accent so could not be sure what he had said.
Both men were found not guilty on death threats and the son pleaded guilty to one count of assault, but was bailed out and awaits formal sentencing in January and has been instructed not to contact his sister. Both men have been ordered to “keep the peace” on parole
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