Student was murdered for family honour, court told

Chomir Ali, a Bangladeshi Muslim living in Oxford, ordered his 17-year-old son, Mohammed Mujibar Rahman, to kill Arash Ghorbani-Zarin, it was alleged at Oxford Crown Court.

Julian Baughan QC, for the prosecution, said Mr Ali, a 44-year-old waiter, became angry in 2003 when his 19-year-old daughter, Manna Begum, began going out with Mr Ghorbani-Zarin, 19, from an Iranian Muslim family. Manna already had a marriage arranged. Mr Ali banned his daughter from contacting her boyfriend, taking her mobile phone and stopping her from leaving the house. This led her to attempt suicide, the court heard.

In August last year the couple got engaged after Manna discovered she was pregnant. Arash, an electronic engineering student at Oxford Brookes University, quit his studies and got a job at a toy store, intending to provide for his family, the court heard. But on 20 November, Arash was found dead, having been stabbed 46 times.

Three days later, a man, alleged to be Mr Ali, was seen throwing a supermarket bag over a hedge into allotments. It was found to contain a knife covered in blood and clothes which DNA tests showed were worn by Mr Ali's son.

The father and son deny murder. Also on trial for murder is a 16-year-old, who cannot be named.

The trial continues.