West London man, relatives sentenced to jail for 'honour-based’ abuse of wife

In a case of "honour-based" abuse, a husband and his four relatives were sentenced to jail for subjecting the man's wife to five years of extreme mistreatment.

The victim, who entered an arranged marriage with Mohammed-Shuaib Arshid, 28, in Pakistan, arrived in the UK with her husband. They moved into a house in Hillingdon, west London, where they resided with Arshid's father, Arshid Sadiq, his mother, Nabila Shaheen, his brother Aqeel Arshid, and his sister Zaib Arshid.

During 18 months of abuse, the wife was forced to live as a house slave, a court heard. The abuse persisted from October 2017 to April 2019 at the residence shared by the family, The Telegraph reported.

The family employed coercive behaviour, such as restricting her communication with family and friends, controlling her movements outside the house, and withholding her personal identification documents.

Furthermore, the family even subjected the victim to threats of death and made her drink engine oil.

She was also denied access to education, money, and basic toiletries, having to rely on her husband's approval for necessities. Throughout the day, the victim was also compelled to perform cooking and cleaning duties before being permitted to rest for the night.

The abuse inflicted by all five family members took a severe toll on the victim's mental and physical well-being, causing long-term psychological harm.

Additionally, Mohammed-Shuaib Arshid committed a separate offense of false imprisonment while on bail, leading to an eight-year prison sentence.

The family members were found guilty of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship and holding a person in slavery or servitude. Mohammed-Shuaib Arshid was sentenced to 11 years in prison, Arshid Sadiq to seven years, Nabila Shaheen to four years, and Aqeel and Zaib to 21 months each.

In addition to their sentences, all five individuals were issued indefinite restraining orders to prevent any contact with the victim.

Paul Jenkins, a senior district crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), expressed the victim's shattered expectations of a safe and loving family home, emphasising the serious physical and psychological harm she endured.

The CPS further highlighted the challenges victims face in cases of "honour-based" abuse, which can involve threats, rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and even honour killings as forms of punishment for perceived dishonour or shame brought upon a family or community.