These dramatic images show three Muslim siblings attempting to kidnap and rob their sister's lesbian lover after they found out about the relationship.
Sarah Harrison, 35, was targeted as she left work in Blackburn, Lancashire.
As she was attacked, one of the siblings shouted: 'you've messed with the wrong Muslims.'
The women's sister Nazma Ditta, 27, one of six sisters and three brothers, had been due to enter into an arranged marriage.
Scroll down for video
+13
This dramatic picture shows CCTV footage of (clockwise from left) Atfah Ditta, Nighat Morris, Ghazala Ditta attacking their victim shop manager Sarah Harrison after they found out about her relationship with their sister
+13
Miss Harrison can be seen struggling with her attackers and attempting to run away. The woman had been secretly seeing their sister Nazma Ditta for several months
But Nazma had begun a secret relationship with Miss Harrison when both women worked at a clothes shop in the town.
Miss Harrison was confronted by sisters Atfah Ditta, 32, and Ghazala Ditta, 31, who got out of a parked silver Toyota Corolla car on June 20 last year.
They were joined by another sister Nighat Morris, 38, and brother Tahmoor Ditta, 26, who produced a metal tool which he brandished at a work colleague of Miss Harrison.
The three women then assaulted Miss Harrison who was dragged around by her hair and kicked as they tried to force her into the car.
CCTV: Moment women try to kidnap and rob sister's lesbian lover
+13
Miss Harrison, seen struggling with the women, and Miss Ditta met while the two worked at a shop in Blackburn
+13
A sibling reaches for Miss Harrison's hair. One of the gang said 'you've mess with the wrong Muslims. We are going to kill you' during the terrifying attack
+13
One of the women shouts at Miss Harrison to get in to the car. She was repeatedly hit in the face and the arms during the stuggle
The victim was repeatedly punched in the face and to her arms in an effort to remove her handbag and force her into the vehicle.
Her bag was taken from her but she managed to prevent herself being dragged into the car by holding on to its sides.
She was left standing at the side of the road as the group got back into their vehicle and drove away.
In the days leading up to the attack, members of the Ditta family had confronted the victim at her workplace and asked her about the whereabouts of their sister.
They also asked her work colleagues about where she parked her car and waited at various locations for her to leave work.
Miss Harrison later told police: 'I can't work comfortably now and I think about people throwing acid in my face.
Anyone Asian I don't know could be associated with the people who attacked me. I have trouble sleeping.
'I feel uncomfortable sleeping on my back because of where I was kicked. My temple still hurts from where I was punched. I have a permanent reminder of the attack by the scar under my eye.
+13
Tosif Ditta (left) and Nayarr Mehmood (right) pictured arriving at Preston Crown Court today
+13
The family are now banned from attempting to contact their sister and Miss Harrison
'I have to sell my house and move somewhere where Nazma's family won't find us. I have had to find a different job which is not easy because I loved my work.'
Today the siblings appeared at Preston Crown Court.
Ghazala Ditta, Atfah Ditta and Nighat Morris pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiracy to commit actual bodily harm, attempted kidnap and robbery. They were all jailed for five years and four months.
Tahmoor Ditta pleaded guilty to the above charges and also admitted assault and possession of an offensive weapon and was sentenced to six years.
Two other sisters, Tosif Ditta, 35, and Nayyar Mehmood, 37 had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit actual bodily harm and were imprisoned for three-and-a-half years.
The children's mother, Rani Ditta, 55, had been charged with conspiracy to kidnap but in November the prosecution offered no evidence against her.
The court heard Nazma was only girl in her family who was unmarried and several potential suitors had been found for her.
+13
+13
Tamoor Ditta (left) was jailed for six years and Tosif Ditta for three and a half years at Preston Crown Court
But she had already begun a relationship with Miss Harrison after meeting at the USC clothing store in Blackburn shopping mall.
Nazma was so fearful of being discovered, she spent six months secretly and slowly moving her belongings into Miss Harrison's home 26 miles away in Blackpool so it wouldn't be noticed.
Prosecutor Mr Richard Haworth said: 'The family had a traditional arranged marriage planned for her and had already suggested a suitor, her cousin to whom the family believed she was betrothed but whom she had already rejected.'
Suspicions about the lovers began after a niece of Miss Ditta spotted messages and photos shared on her relative's mobile phone. Miss Ditta denied an affair but was ordered to stop any sleepovers at the homes of friends.
A date was set for her wedding which Nazma agreed to - whilst secretly planning to leave.
Mr Haworth added: 'There had already been regular discussions about marrying off Nazma.
'But knowing that the family would react very badly to the news that she was gay and that she was in an ongoing relationship, Nazma had been slowly moving her belongings from the family home over to Miss Harrison's property.
+13
+13
Atfah Ditta, (left) one of the women who attacked Miss Harrison, got five years four months as did Ghazala Ditta
'She further decided to terminate her employment and moved into Miss Harrison's property.
'She left a note to inform her family she had got a new job in Manchester and was moving out. She left her email address as her contact details and changed her phone number.'
Nazma's family later went to the shop asking about her whereabouts and repeatedly emailed her until she confessed she was gay.
A family meeting was later held at a coffee shop in Blackburn during which Miss Ditta said she would not get married but agreed to return home to say her goodbyes.
When she left again she received text messages from her brother Tasawar saying: 'I am dead to you. Delete my number I hope you're happy with sarah.'
Her sister Ghazala sent a message saying: 'selfish stupid bitch. Just wait till I get hold of you.'
Later members of the family confronted Miss Harrison at her workplace, asking her about the whereabouts of her partner.
They also asked her work colleagues about where she parked her car and waited at various locations for her to leave work.
+13
+13
Nayyar Mehmood (left) got three and a half years and Nighat Morris got five years four months
Mr Haworth said: 'The attack was virtually all captured on CCTV. The three sisters simultaneously attacked and attempted to physically bundle Miss Harrison into the back of the car.
'She was punched and kicked and had her hair gripped and pulled repeatedly.
'Both Miss Harrison and Shah Ahmed refer to the family saying "get her in, get her in, you've messed with the wrong Muslims, we're going to kill you" and "get her bag, get her bag".
'The attack on Miss Harrison was a brutal sustained and a pre-planned group action and it nearly succeeded.
All claimed they acted out of concern for their sister.
Defence lawyer Adam Watkins, defending Tosif, said: 'She did what she did out of a misjudged sense of what was right for her sister. It was a misguided sense of love.
Graham Blower for Nayyar said: 'This would have happened to Miss Harrison if she was Mr, Mrs, black, white, pink or orange.'
But Judge Graham Knowles QC said: 'This is a case about power and contol. It is about striking terror and attempting to control not just the body but the will.
This was a group ambush and you struck with the terror that all of you intended.'
No comments:
Post a Comment