Shafilea's Sister 'Watched Parents Kill Teen'

A sister of killed teenager Shafilea Ahmed told a friend she witnessed her parents suffocate Shafilea with a plastic bag, a court has heard.

Mevish Ahmed has always told police she does not believe her parents were involved in the death of her older sister.

Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed deny murdering Shafilea at the family home in Warrington in 2003.

But Mevish Ahmed's friend Shahin Munir told the jury at Chester Crown Court that Mevish sent "letters" to her in 2008 about Shafilea's death.

She told the court that shortly afterwards Ms Ahmed told her "specifically what happened the night she died".

She said Mevish recalled how her parents used a plastic bag to kill Shafilea and that as she "watched her sister being suffocated" Shafilea's eyes were "really wide".

Ms Munir only told police her account on May 29 after the trial of Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed had begun. She said she was prompted to contact police after hearing media reports about the trial.

Mevish Ahmed had earlier told the court the "letters" were works of fiction and said she made up the stories. She denied that the conversation took place between her and Shahin Munir.

She said if her parents were convicted they would be "blamed for something they haven't done" and that she would continue thinking "my sister's killer is still out there".

She described the documents as "free writing" and said they were all pieces of "fiction".

"I'm sorry that I wrote this, it was just a story and I did not think it would be taken out of context," she said.

Another of Shafilea's sisters, Alesha, has told the court she saw her parents commit the murder. The trial continues.