Terror accused would never commit such an act, says fiancée

Published on Monday 30 June 2008 22:19

THE fiancée of a man accused of preparing to be a suicide bomber said yesterday that they were looking forward to the future together.

Airline bomb suspect Arafat Waheed Khan, 27, had been set for a traditional wedding with celebrations in Pakistan and London, Woolwich Crown Court heard. His prospective wife, Ammara Chaudhry, 27, told how an engagement party had been held only days before he was arrested by counter-terrorism officers in August 2006.

Asked if she knew of his alleged intention to become an Islamic martyr, she said: "Arafat would never commit such an act."

She denied any knowledge of a martyrdom video recorded by her long-term boyfriend threatening violence against the West.

Miss Chaudhry said: "As far as we were concerned, that allegation is something we cannot find believable. Not at all. I was actually shocked. I do not agree with it."

Khan is one of eight men on trial accused of conspiring to blow up transatlantic jets with home-made liquid bombs. They all deny conspiring to murder and to endanger aircraft.

Miss Chaudhry, a Royal Mail employee from west London, met Khan when they were both students at the University of North London in 2000.

Giving evidence in his defence yesterday, she described Khan as a loving and emotional man who lavished her with attention and gifts. She said he was not a strict Muslim as he drank alcohol, smoked cannabis and had been in trouble with the police.

She described how the couple's romance grew after they first met in a student union bar.

She said: "We made sure every day was special for us. Arafat would make any Valentine's Day or my birthday special for me. We would go out to bars, restaurants or the student union bar, we used to go out together a lot."

Miss Chaudhry said she eventually introduced Khan to her parents via a trusted aunt in the summer of 2006. She said they approved the marriage and preparations began in earnest, with dates set in April 2007 for the celebrations.

The case continues.