A strict father who imposed a 'toxic and oppressive' regime upon his family after two of his eight daughters refused to enter into arranged marriages walked free from court after they urged a judge not to send him to prison.
Salamat Khan, 63, had instilled such severe parental control over his household over a three year period that his 21-year-old daughter Madina felt like she was 'living in a prison.'
The father of nine had already married off three of his daughters to selected spouses but he 'cast out' two of his other children when they married other men he did not 'approve of.'
As a result of the unwanted weddings, Khan claimed the rebel sisters were 'dead to the family' and tried to stop two other unmarried daughters, Madina and Maryha, leading a Westernised lifestyle. Salamat also demanded properties in the names of female relatives be transferred to him for his control.
Police were first called to the Khan's family home in Oldham, Greater Manchester after a violent argument broke out when Abbas, 34, demanded one of the property to be transferred to his name so he could facilitate his own wife emigrating to the UK from her native Pakistan.
Madira Khan, 21, said: 'I was in a panic for everyone and I was crying for it to stop. My brother threatened to kill me more than once and this time I thought he was going to do something. He was enraged. It's been like living in a prison.'
At Minshull Street Crown Court, Salamat was found guilty of engaging in coercive behaviour towards Madina and Maryha as well as his wife Zahida Begum between December 2015 and June 2018 was banned from contacting all three indefinitely under the terms of a restraining order. He was also ordered to complete a 12 month community order.
Abbas who was found guilty of coercive behaviour towards his sisters and common assault on his mother and was ordered to abide by the restraining order and complete 100 hours unpaid work. Both father and son who each denied wrongdoing were ordered to pay a total of £300 prosecution costs.
