Court supports forced marriage GP
- 00:01:24
- ITN
Court supports forced marriage GP
The High Court has granted orders preventing NHS doctor Humayra Abedin from being removed from the UK without her consent following her forced marriage in Bangladesh. Dr Abedin, 33, from east London, returned to the UK on Tuesday after being held captive by her parents for four months. Injunctions were issued by the judge against Dr Abedin's parents, a paternal uncle and the man she was forced to marry. Mr Justice Coleridge heard from her counsel, Hassan Khan, that a nullity petition was likely to be issued "in due course should this be necessary in this jurisdiction". Granting orders to "protect" Dr Abedin, the judge said that for "anyone of any age" to go through a marriage without their consent was "a complete aberration of the whole concept of marriage in a civilised society". He stressed that it was "vitally important for the message to be understood in those communities where this kind of behaviour is sanctioned" that the courts will act "swiftly and decisively" in cases were there had been such a "gross abuse of an individual's human rights". The court heard that Dr Abedin has lived in the UK since 2002 and intends to remain working and living in this country.
ITN | December 19, 2008
