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| 'My husband pushed me from the peak', is the statement given by the woman at the time of death, the husband was imprisoned for 20 years |
A man has been sentenced to at least 20 years in prison for killing his pregnant wife by falling from a 50-foot cliff at a tourist destination in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh.
Kashif Anwar, 29, killed Fauzia Javed, 31, on the day they were on holiday in the Arthur's Seat mountain range in September 2021.
Fauzia, from Yorkshire, gave a dying statement to a police officer that her husband pushed her from above.
While Kashif Anwar claimed that he slipped and hit his wife.
A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh rejected his arguments and found him guilty of murder. Fawzia was 17 weeks pregnant and her unborn child also died in the incident.
Kashif, from Pudsey, near Leeds, was jailed for a minimum of 20 years.
Kashif was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison for murdering his wife
Judge Lord Beckett told him he had a duty to protect his wife but was guilty of this 'crime'.
He said that you did not show any regret and did not even try to save them.
In the week-long trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, the jury recorded a statement from Fawzia's mother, who said her daughter was experiencing violence and pressure in her married life.
Yasmeen Javed said her daughter had told her parents that she would leave Kashif in Edinburgh after a four-day break.
Fauzia, dying on Arthur's seat, had told a policeman that Kashif dropped her because she wanted to break up.
The court was told that Kashif was an ophthalmology student when he met Fauzia, who was then a lawyer. She met Kashif while buying new glasses with her mother. After meeting again, their relationship started.
Her mother told the court that Kashif met the parents in November 2019 and proposed marriage to Fauzia. They got married on Christmas Day in 2020.
However, Fauzia soon became troubled by Kashif's behavior. Fauzia's mother said she was very close to her only child and was told of domestic violence by Kashif.
Yasmeen Anwar said that her daughter had said that she was thinking of leaving Kashif after a few months of marriage.
Kashif did not give evidence to the court and told police officers that after arriving in Edinburgh on September 1, 2021, he went to breakfast the next morning. Kashif said that after visits to Harvey Nichols and Millbury, they went to a music store and browsed some of the 'Harry Potter'-related shops.
He then decided to go to Arthur's Seat. This is an extinct volcano in Holyrood Park. They reached the place at 7:30 in the evening and climbed up to watch the sunset.
The couple arrived late and started back down. Then they decided to take a selfie at the peak.
"We were below the peak," Kashif told the police. I lost my balance and bumped into them. I heard them fall down to which they said 'Oops my foot' and started screaming. Then I heard a loud voice.
Fauzia fell from a height of fifty feet. He had an obvious head injury due to the fall, but despite this, he was able to talk for a while.
A man named Daniyal Rafiq was the first to reach them. They said that they told me not to let my husband come near me and he pushed me.
Police officer PC Rhiannon Clutton then arrived at the scene. He said that she was in pain but still answered my questions.
"I asked the woman what had happened and her reply was: 'He pushed me.' Fauzia Javed said her husband pushed her because she was trying to end the relationship.
Fauzia suffered a heart attack and died on the spot with multiple injuries. That same night, Kashif was arrested on charges of murder.
Fauzia has pushed off the peak and fell 50 feet to her death
"A Life of Despair and Pain"
DC Steven Caballero said Kashif asked how many years he would be sentenced. He said that his life has been ruined. When asked if he would take bail, his reply was 'probably not.' Not on murder.
The police officer said that the killer asked how Edinburgh prisons were and how Saton prison was.
During the trial, a phone recording of Fawzia's mother was played in which she called Kashif a "rude" and "terrible person".
In the recording, he asked, 'Which husband treats his wife the way you do?'
Natasha Ratu, associated with Karma Nirvana, an organization established to prevent domestic violence, said on behalf of Fawzia's family, "This is no peace or justice for us." It is a lifetime of pain and suffering. Our life imprisonment started from the day our daughter was brutally murdered.
She was the best daughter, granddaughter, friend, and mother-to-be. A successful lawyer with his whole life ahead of him. Fauzia's departure left a huge void in our lives. The luster has gone from our lives forever.