In a tragic case full of twists, prosecutors in Glasgow, England, have charged 28-year-old Sadia Ahmed with murdering her 14-month-old daughter in April 2016 by placing a cushion over Inaya Ahmed’s face and shaking her.
“The prosecution alleges that Inaya was assaulted by her mother on 17 April 2016 and died in the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow three days later,” the BBC reported.
Ms. Ahmed denies the charge.
Testifying at the trial before Judge Lord Matthews, her aunt, Shagufta Yasmin, said her niece “was not happy” and cried when she discovered she was having a girl,” according to the BBC.
“She used to say she wanted a son, not a daughter,” the aunt told the court.
“She said she wanted an abortion. We said ‘have faith in God’ and he might give her a son next time.
We said if you wish to have an abortion that’s your decision. But we’re happy with whatever it is.”
After they returned from the hospital the day Inaya died, Ms. Yasmin testified she spoke to Ms Ahmed in her bedroom and asked, “’Tell me how you killed Inaya.’ Initially she said: ‘It is between me and Allah.’”
In the beginning Ms. Ahmed did not tell her aunt “how she did it,” Ms. Yasmin testified.
Ms. Yasmin told prosecutor Paul Kearney that Ms. Ahmed said she had put her legs over Inaya to stop her thrashing about and kicking her legs.
Mr. Kearney asked: “Do you remember your emotions when she was telling you this?”
She replied: “I said: ‘Do you not feel any mercy for her?’ and Sadia smiled.”
Why didn’t she tell anyone about the conversation? “I became fearful of her. I couldn’t believe a mother could do something like this.”
But it turned out that on May 4, 2016, Ms. Yasmin had confessed to killing the child! Prosecutor Kearney asked why she had confessed if she hadn’t killed Inaya?
Ms Yasmin replied: “I thought they would release Inaya’s body. I just wanted justice for Inaya and her body back.”
The witness was then asked: “Why did you not tell the police it was Sadia that killed Inaya?”
Ms Yasmin told the court: “Because at that time I didn’t understand what to say or what not to say because I was scared.”
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
