Walker on Arthur's Seat told by wife of murder accused that he 'pushed' her

A walker on Arthur’s Seat was told by a woman allegedly murdered by her husband that he pushed her down the hill, a court heard.

Fawziyah Javed, 31, died after falling from Arthur's Seat in September 2021.

Kashif Anwar, 29, is accused of murdering Fawziyah Javed, 31, in September 2021 by pushing her from the hill, causing her multiple blunt force injuries and ultimately her death and that of her unborn child.

Anwar denies all the charges against him, including one of acting in a threatening and abusive way towards his wife at a hotel in Edinburgh the day before the alleged murder.

Giving evidence at the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday afternoon, witness Daniyah Rafique, 24, said she found Ms Javed on Arthur’s Seat on the evening of September 2, 2021.

She said she was approached by Anwar, who she described as looking “panicked”.

The witness said Anwar told her his wife had fallen and he could not see her.

Ms Rafique told the court she made her way back down Arthur’s Seat with Anwar to try to find his wife.

Upon finding Ms Javed, Ms Rafique said Ms Javed asked her: “Am I going to be OK? Is my baby going to be OK?”

Ms Rafique told the court she reassured Ms Javed and told her emergency services were on their way.

Ms Rafique said: “She said she was really scared. She kept saying ‘don’t let my husband near me, he pushed me’.

“I said this to her a few more times: ‘He pushed you?'

“To which she said ‘yes, I think so’.”

Following this, Ms Rafique said two police officers approached her along with two others.

Police Constable Rhiannon Clutton, 35, was one of the police officers who attended the night Ms Javed is alleged to have been murdered by her husband.

Ms Clutton said she found Ms Javed “writhing in pain” with an obvious injury to the head but that she was still able to speak. The officer asked Ms Javed what happened and she said she had been pushed by her husband “because I told him I wanted to end it,” the court heard.

The officer asked Ms Javed if she had previously spoken to police about him and Ms Javed said she had “at home in Leeds”.

Anwar denies all the charges. The trial, before Lord Beckett, continues.