BRITAIN: A man and his two teenage sons were convicted of murder yesterday after Oxford Crown Court heard how they stabbed a teenager 46 times a year ago in a so-called "honour killing".
Chomir Ali (44) and his two sons, aged 16 and 19, were found guilty of killing Arash Ghorbani-Zarin (19) in Oxford. His body was found in the front seat of his car with multiple stab wounds.
The court heard how Ali ordered his sons to kill the young university student because they disapproved of his relationship with Manna Begum, Ali's daughter. Ghorbani-Zarin had been going out with Manna for about a year and she was pregnant.
All four men were Muslims but from different parts of Oxford's Islamic community.
The defendants were of Bangladeshi origin and the victim was a British Iranian.
"His death has crushed our family," his relatives said after the verdict was announced. "This verdict gives us some comfort that justice has been done, but it does not bring him back."
A police spokesman described the murder as "a horrific violent attack on an innocent young man with a lot to live for".
Honour killings and attacks are rare in Britain and are confined almost exclusively to the country's 1.6-million Muslim community.
Often they arise from a generational clash between traditionally-minded parents who came to Britain as immigrants and children who have been born in Britain and want to live a more Western lifestyle.
The court heard how Ali had planned an arranged marriage for his daughter before she got pregnant. Following the killing of her boyfriend, she had an abortion.