A woman accused of murdering two teenagers in an arson attack fled her home to escape an arranged Asian marriage, a court heard.

Anum Khan, nine, died in the fire at her home in Magdalen Road, east Oxford, on August 26 last year. Her brother Majid, 15, died two days later.

Riaz Munshi, 26, and boyfriend Haroon Sharif, 20, are two of six accused of the two murders.

Yesterday (Thurs), Birmingham Crown Court heard how Riaz and her sister Fiaz decided to adopt a western lifestyle which their family did not approve of.

In a statement given to police shortly after the fire, Riaz revealed how she began to date Sharif in secret.

But when she was 23, the jury heard, her brother tried to force her into an arranged marriage.

She told police in her statement: "I was informed by my brother that I would be marrying someone in Pakistan.

"The purpose was to get a visa prepared for my husband to come to Britain.

"I refused to acknowledge him and continued to see Haroon. By now, I was in love with him." Following a row with her brother, she and her sister Fiaz fled the family home in Oxford and went to live in a women's refuge in Hertfordshire, the court heard.

Her sister Fiaz then began to go out with Haq Nawaz, who is Sharif's cousin.

Riaz Munshi said in her statement to Det Con George Mynehan that her relationship was good with the Khan family but deteriorated when an argument started.

This was because the Munshis claimed the Khans were spreading rumours about them.

Riaz said in her first statement to police that on the night of the fatal fire she was staying at the home of Haq Nawaz's mother, where she remained all night.

She also said to Det Con Mynehan: "What if someone was just the driver?" but refused to elaborate on what she had said. The court also heard that chief witness for the prosecution Sundar Khutan was not under caution when he volunteered a statement to police several months after the fire.

The six charged with the two murders are Alan Swanton, 18, of Southern Way, Letchworth, Hertfordshire; brothers Mohammed Nawaz, 21, and Haq Nawaz, 31, both of Ridge Road, Letchworth; Thomas Liedl, 18, of Birdshill, Letchworth; Haroon Sharif, 20, of Morrell Avenue, Oxford; and Riaz Munshi, 26, of Fulwell Road, Sheffield. They all deny the charges.

The court has been told that Fiaz Munshi, the sister of accused Riaz Munshi, has fled to Pakistan.

Alan Swanton and Thomas Liedl are alleged to have started the fire by squirting petrol through the Khans' letterbox of the Khans' home and lighting it. The trial continues.

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