Fears for London doctor held by her family in marriage plot

Friends of a London doctor who has allegedly been beaten and held captive in Bangladesh under a forced marriage plot today made an emotional appeal for her release.

Humayra Abedin, 33, who works at Whipps Cross hospital in east London, is allegedly being held hostage by her family in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

A close friend says Dr Abedin's Muslim parents have bound and gagged her, handing out violent beatings to get her to marry a fellow Muslim.

He said he has grave fears for her safety after she made a secret phone call saying she wants to end her life and pleading with him to rescue her.

The 44-year-old man said: "She was begging me to help her, saying she couldn't manage living there and that they were taking her to a mental hospital that day.

"Humayra said she had nothing to look forward to and that she'd die living there. It makes me so depressed and angry - I can't sleep and I don't feel like I'm living."

His last direct contact was the distressing call on 13 August. He believes Dr Abedin's parents admitted her to a mental hospital, under false claims of psychiatric illness, where she was held for two months.

She is now understood to be confined to a single room at the family home.

"Her life is in danger and they've told her they'd prefer her to die there rather than return to London. There are five people guarding her and they're forcing her to take sleeping medication. I just can't stand it," he added.

"Humayra's father appears to be a really nasty man. Not only has he threatened me, someone also called me from Bangladesh telling me they would do something to my mother," he said.

Dr Abedin, who was in her last year of training to be a GP, moved to Britain in 2002 to study at Leeds University.

A Met investigation was launched in June following allegations that the doctor's mother and uncle tried to hold her captive in London. Her friends said Dr Abedin was then duped into returning to Bangladesh on 5 August after her mother falsely claimed she was seriously ill. Dr Abedin's friend, Imon Sultana, who lives in Cambridge and went to medical school with her in Bangladesh, said: "She's a fun-loving girl and was the only friend I had. I know she was having trouble learning in her last year and had the extra family pressure on top of that but I'm so puzzled by this situation. She's not normally shy and can speak up for herself."

Lawyers are hoping the new Forced Marriage Act can be used to influence the Bangladeshi courts to take action against Dr Abedin's parents. The Act, which came into force on 25 November, means anyone responsible for arranging a forced marriage can be jailed for up to two years.

The High Court in London served Dr Abedin's parents with a Forced Marriage Order this weekend over fears they were organising a wedding.

Ain o Salish Kendra lawyers, acting for Dr Abedin's cousin, Dr Shipra Chaudhuri, are also pursuing the case in Bangladesh on her behalf.

The Bangladesh High Court has issued a fourth order to the parents -who are now in contempt of court - requesting they bring Dr Abedin before a judge on 14 December.

Anne-Marie Hutchinson, the solicitor acting for Dr Abedin here, said: "The Act is not enforceable in Bangladesh but we are confident the pressure will push authorities. If her family does produce her at court, then she could be released in a secure building and be free to come back to the UK."

Forced marriages campaigner, Shahien Taj, director of the Henna Foundation pressure group, said: "I grew up in the UK and saw a number of Asian women taken abroad and never return; one girl committed suicide by throwing herself over a bridge; and parents of one boy murdered his girlfriend - all because of forced marriage issues. When you grow up with that sort of stuff, you grow up in fear and can't do anything without thinking about the consequences. Humayra is lucky she has this help from her friends and solicitors here, as 80 per cent of high street solicitors wouldn't have even touched this case."

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: "While we do not comment on individual cases, forced marriage is an appalling and indefensible practice that the government is working hard to stop."

ASK lawyers were not available for comment.