Samaira Nazir had pleaded to be allowed to marry
A man has been jailed for life for murdering his sister after she fell in love with an asylum seeker.
Greengrocer Azhar Nazir, 30, and his cousin Imran Mohammed, 17, stabbed Samaira Nazir 18 times at the family home in Southall in April 2005.

The 25-year-old recruitment consultant was killed after she asked to marry an Afghan man - instead of marrying someone in the Pakistani family circle.

An Old Bailey judge detained Mohammed, also convicted of murder, for life.

The teenager was told he must serve a minimum of 10 years in youth detention, while Nazir will be jailed for at least 20 years.

The court had earlier heard Samaira fell in love with Salman Mohammed, who befriended the family after arriving in the UK in 2000.

She lost her life for loving the wrong man

Sally Howes, prosecuting

They began a secret relationship but when Miss Nazir asked for permission to marry him, her family reacted angrily.

Mr Mohammed had been warned by Nazir: "We can get you anywhere if you get married, even if you are not in this country."


Nazir stabbed his sister to death with the help of a cousin

The couple had last seen each other about an hour before Miss Nazir was killed.

She had tried to talk to her mother about the problem at a relative's house, but her mother refused. The pair returned to the family home.

The attack that followed, described by Judge Christopher Moss as barbaric, was witnessed by two young nieces.

Miss Nazir tried to flee but her brother dragged her back into the house where the assault continued.

A neighbour heard screams and knocked on the door. Nazir told her his sister was suffering a fit, but as she returned to her home she heard Miss Nazir shout "You are not my mother any more".

Prosecutors said the family thought Mr Mohammed was only after their money.

'Family disapproved'

Miss Nazir's father was arrested and bailed during the investigation but fled to Pakistan.

Sally Howes, prosecuting, said: "Following a heated argument about her relationship with Salman, she was attacked and killed.

"She lost her life for loving the wrong man."

Judge Moss lifted a ban on identifying Mohammed, a distant cousin of Samaira, who was said to have treated him like another brother.

Sentencing Nazir, he said: "You were her judge and jury, although you may not have been alone.

"You claimed to have loved your sister but were guilty of orchestrating her murder."

Nazir Afzal, area director of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Samaira was murdered because she loved the wrong person, in her family's eyes.

"In that sense, it was an honour killing to protect the perceived status of the family, to mark their disapproval."