Pakistani-origin father-son face jail for mental abuse of family in UK

A Pakistani-origin father-son duo face a jail sentence of up to five years each after they were found guilty of coercive behaviour towards members of their family in a first-of-its-kind conviction in the UK.

Salamat Khan was described as an overly strict father who forced his daughters into a strict Islamic life akin to "living in a prison" during a hearing at Manchester Magistrates' Court this week.

The 63-year-old was found guilty of coercive behaviour towards two of his daughters as well as his wife between December 2015 and June 2018.

His son Abbas Khan was found guilty of coercive behaviour and common assault. They both will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court next month.

"You did continuously and repeatedly control and coerce your daughters by not allowing friends in the family home and not allowing them access with their friends outside of school," noted Joyce Fletcher, Chair of the Bench at Manchester Magistrates' Court.

"We find the matter so serious that our sentencing powers are insufficient," she said, in reference to the case moving to the Crown Court for sentencing.

Khan and wife Zahida Begum moved to the UK from Pakistan in 1979 and visited the country regularly with their family.

Three of their eight daughters had arranged marriages in Pakistan but two younger ones chose to marry of their own and were cast out as "dead to the family" by Khan and his 34-year-old son Abbas.

Their refusal to submit to arranged marriages had an impact on two younger daughters - Madina and Maryha - who were subjected to even stricter controls and forced to cook and clean.

When Manchester police officers spoke to Khan about his two rebel daughters, he admitted: "They can marry whoever they wish but I want nothing to do with them".

The court also heard how Khan demanded properties in the names of other female relatives be transferred to him or his son.

A violent row in which Abbas pushed his mother hard at their family home in Oldham, Greater Manchester, led to the duo being arrested.

"There's been many arguments about the transfer of names for the property. My husband would accuse me of seeing other men when I went out to visit my daughters," said Zahida, a housewife.

Madina, 21, also gave a statement in court to highlight the coercion exerted by her father and brother. Both men deny the charges and now face around five years each behind bars.