Mother had coded alert for daughter to raise alarm about husband, court told

A husband on trial for allegedly murdering his pregnant wife by pushing her off Arthur’s Seat was so “violent” towards her that his mother-in-law set up a text code to alert police, a court heard.

Kashif Anwar, 29, is accused of murdering his wife Fawziya Javed, 31, in Edinburgh in September 2021 by pushing her from the hill in Holyrood Park, causing her multiple blunt force injuries, leading to her death and that of her unborn child.

Anwar denies all the charges against him, including one of acting in a threatening and abusive way towards her at a hotel the day before the alleged murder.

His mother-in-law Nighat Yasmin Javed gave evidence at the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday, saying she and her daughter first met Anwar together at an opticians in Leeds city centre, near their home in Pudsey, where he worked as an optical assistant.

She said when Anwar saw Ms Javed alone one day, he told her she was the type of woman he wanted to marry.

The couple had an Islamic wedding on December 25 2020, but the court heard that concerns were raised within months.

Mrs Javed told advocate depute Alex Prentice KC she was “very worried” about her daughter, and added: “I said if you feel that you are in danger, just text me ‘I like cream cakes’, and I will contact the police.”

She said she did this because of the “abuse, the violence, the aggression, and coercive control” in the relationship, which included, she said, Anwar taking £12,000 from her daughter’s bank account while she was sleeping.

Mrs Javed said her daughter’s calls and texts were monitored by the accused, and between three or four months after the wedding her daughter wanted out of the marriage.

“The accused was being abusive, controlling, manipulative, aggressive and violent towards her,” she told the court. “She didn’t want to stay in a marriage like that, she wanted to leave.”

The court was played a recording of Anwar’s wife, who worked as an employment lawyer, phoning a legal firm for advice on getting a divorce.

The trial, in its second day, also heard from James Duncan, 25, who was walking up Arthur’s Seat with his girlfriend on the evening of September 2 when Ms Javed was found.

He said: “There were a couple of screams to my recollection. One was from a female screaming, then I heard a male screaming after I heard the female scream.”

He said that soon afterwards, he saw Anwar with another woman who were looking for a charged mobile phone to call emergency services.

Mr Duncan said: “The gentleman said his wife had fallen off the summit and wanted me to call 999 to get in touch with ambulance or police or emergency services to get them to help with the situation.”

In the first 999 call, operators were told she could be heard screaming after the fall.

The court heard that in a second call, Anwar told the ambulance service they both slipped.

In cross-examination, Mr Duncan, who told the court he had scaled the hill more than 100 times, said the accused was wearing ordinary shoes and not hiking boots.

The trial, before Lord Beckett, continues.