The 20-year-old victim was drugged and kidnapped before being taken to England to forcibly wed a shop assistant due to be deported back to Pakistan, Preston Crown Court in Lancashire was told.
She was plied with vodka and beer before the illegal ‘Nikah’ marriage ceremony at a mosque, and then repeatedly raped by her new ‘husband’ whilst being detained in a flat above his family's shop.
In the shop: CCTV footage showing Azam Khan (centre right), Abdul Shinwary (bottom right), Nusrat Khan (bottom left) and the victim (centre left). Sentencing took place at Preston Crown Court today
Talks: CCTV from the shop showing Shinwary (left, in black head covering) and Khan (right, wearing headscarf)
She was rescued from a house in October 2012 following a series of raids on homes in Burnley, Lancashire, and Bradford, West Yorkshire, following a tip-off she was being held against her will.
Police believe several locals turned a blind eye to her ordeal, and fear she is among several women abducted from Eastern Europe then sold for £6,000 to immigrant men looking to stay in Britain.
Phillip Boyd, prosecuting, told the court that the woman had no understanding of what was going on during the ceremony at the Burnley mosque because she spoke no English.
He said: ‘What links all these people together is a series of events which sounds more like something from a 19th century novel by Dickens than anything happening in Europe in the 21st century.
‘The victim was handled round the continent and this country like a commodity.
All the more cruel and inexcusable (as) being so unable to cope on her own, she was so ill-fitted to do anything about it.'
Those involved were convicted of a series of people trafficking and sex offences.
Imrich Bodor, 45, and Abdul Shinwary, 38, from Bradford, were found guilty of people trafficking for exploitation.
Walking away: Nusrat Khan (second left), the aunt of bogus bridegroom Azam Khan, leaving Preston Crown Court today, where she was found guilty of false imprisonment and given nine months suspended for two years
Bodor was jailed for nine years and Shinwary received ten years and three months.
Petra Dzudzova, 25, also from Bradford, who was found guilty of the same charge, will be sentenced tomorrow.
Azam Khan, 33, the bogus bridegroom who forced the victim into marriage, was jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of people trafficking, rape, assault and false imprisonment.
'What links all these people together is a series of events which sounds more like something from a 19th century novel by Dickens than anything happening in Europe in the 21st century'
Phillip Boyd, prosecuting
His aunt Nusrat Khan, 40, was found guilty of false imprisonment and received nine months suspended for two years.
Kristina Makunova, 37, pleaded guilty to people trafficking for exploitation and was jailed for 51 weeks.
Azam Khan entered into the scam after he approached a Manchester-based immigration advisory firm, because he had run into problems with the UK Border Agency, the court was told.
During a meeting he was advised to 'marry a European girl' to secure a visa to remain in the country.
Later he was introduced to go-between Shinwary, through a cousin, who claimed he had ‘married’ a European woman in similar circumstances. Khan was told he would be charged £4,000 for a bride.
Behind bars: Imrich Bodor (left), 45, who targeted the victim when she was visiting a travelling fair in the town of Zempliw, was jailed for nine years. Abdul Shinwary (right), 38, a go-between, got ten years and three months
Criminals: Bogus bridegroom Azam Khan (left), 33, was jailed for 12 years. Kristina Makunova (centre), 37, was involved in the trafficking and got 51 weeks. Petra Dzudzova (right), also involved, will be sentenced tomorrow
The victim, who comes from a Romany gypsy community in eastern Slovakia, had been visiting a travelling fair in the town of Zempliw when she was targeted by Bodor in mid-August last year.
After chatting her up, Bodor plied with alcohol laced with sleeping tablets - then after she passed out, bundled her onto a coach bound for England.
The next thing she recalled was waking up in London before being taken to a house in Bradford.
She begged to be taken home but she was ordered to marry a 'Mr Khan' and pressure was put on her to be intimate with him.
Giving evidence on a video recording, the victim said of Bodor: ‘I was afraid that he would beat me up. I had seen it in his eyes. He had a very angry look.
‘I was thinking how should I get away from here, but I was afraid to leave because I did not know the way I needed to go.’
The woman was kept at the property for two weeks where she was slapped and kicked to the head and back.
Later she was sold to Azam and forced to go through the illegal ceremony with him which was conducted by an imam unaware of the scam.
Dingy: She was repeatedly raped by her new ‘husband’ whilst being detained in a flat above his family's shop
The woman was later held prisoner by Azam Khan at a flat above his aunt and uncle's corner shop where he raped her three times and assaulted her twice.
She was found at the home of Nusrat Khan during a raid in October last year.
She returned home to Slovakia in January this year with the assistance of the Slovakian authorities and Caritas, the Slovakian catholic charity.
But she was brought back to Britain by police to give evidence against her abusers. Police retrieved a marriage certificate from a ‘cell’ in an upstairs room where she apparently slept.
After the case, the victim said: ‘I am very happy that these bad people are going to prison. This is what I always wanted after what they did to me. Thank you to the person who rang the police.
‘I was so scared for my life. Many times I wanted to run away from them but because of what the bad people told me, I didn't know where to run, where to go, or who I could trust.
‘All I wanted to do was go home to my family in Slovakia. If the police hadn't come to get me, I don't think I would be here today.
Investigation: The shop in Burnley, Lancashire. Police believe several locals turned a blind eye to her ordeal
‘Thank you to the police and all the other good people who looked after me and got me back to my family. Thank you for believing me.’
Judge Jonathan Gibson said: ‘Over the past two months or so and during the course of this trial the jury and I have heard through the evidence and have observed at close quarters the sordid world of people trafficking and in particular have observed the trauma, pain and distress suffered by the victim.
‘At the time of the events she was 20 and from a rural part of Slovakia.
She was plainly vulnerable to manipulation by those of greater intellect, sophistication and power.
She suffered a dreadful ordeal being kidnapped in Slovakia by two men. They were known to Bodor and were part of a gang.
‘She was kept against her will suffering a mixture of deception to come to the UK, initially believing she was coming to the Czech Republic to find work.
‘She was kept in various houses in this country and was sold twice as a prospective bride for Pakistani men.
‘She was effectively forced to go through a sham marriage and she was repeatedly raped.
She was only discovered by police after an anonymous call which led then to her.
On camera: Abdul Shinwary, 38, of Bradford, on his way to a mosque in October 2012 just after 7pm
‘There is no doubt that even though there is only one victim in this case it is a serious case of exploitation involving an element of modern-day slavery committed in an organised manner.’
The judge said that after serving their sentences Azam Khan and Abdul Shinwary will be deported back to Pakistan.
Detective Inspector Neil Howarth said: ‘This is a case of modern-day slavery.
The victim in this case has been trafficked into and within the UK, sold, subjected to assaults, rape and further sold for marriage.
'This is a case of modern-day slavery. The victim in this case has been trafficked into and within the UK, sold, subjected to assaults, rape and further sold for marriage'
Detective Inspector Neil Howarth
‘During police interviews it became apparent that she had been brought to the UK against her will on a coach in August 2012.
‘She had been prostituted against her will, physically assaulted, prevented from leaving the company of persons associated to her, had her travel documents taken from her, sold into marriage and raped.
‘Someone within the community raised the alarm to alert the police to this woman's ordeal and I would like to thank them for that. However, others within the community at Bradford and Burnley have turned a blind eye.
‘Throughout her ordeal all she wanted to do was go home.
The victim had no intention of benefitting from the opportunities presented in the UK and returned home as soon as possible.
‘She is an extremely vulnerable young woman, and I am proud at the bravery she has shown in attending court and giving evidence to obtain justice.’
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