‘Forced marriage’ doctor freed by court

An NHS doctor who was held captive by her family in Bangladesh for four months while they plotted a forced marriage is expected to return to Britain in the next few days after a court ruling in Dhaka.

Humayra Abedin, 33, who is training to become a GP at Whipps Cross Hospital in East London, was allegedly beaten, drugged and held against her will after being duped into flying to Bangladesh on August 3 when family members claimed that her mother was seriously ill.

Dr Abedin has a Hindu boyfriend in London, which angered her Muslim family, according to reports. They were preparing to marry her to a Muslim stranger, it is claimed. A friend of Dr Abedin, who had lived with her in East Ham, sounded the alarm after receiving a text on August 11. “Please help me. My life is in danger. They have locked me in house. My job is at stake. They are making my life hell,” the message said.

Yesterday, Judge Syed Mahmod Hossain ordered Dr Abedin’s parents to return her passport, driver’s licence and credit card. “It perplexes me as to why the parents kept her confined and interfered with her personal life. I am shocked,” he said. Dr Abedin told Sky News last night: “I’m relieved that I’m free, I’m happy. I just want to say thank you to all those who supported and helped me. I’m fine and I’m feeling happy. I don’t have any bad feelings towards them. They are my parents so I don’t have any bad feelings.”

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