Harry Potter star Afshan Azad didn’t want to bring a case against her brother, who attacked her over her relationship with a Hindu man as she feared it would put her in danger.
The young actress Afshan Azad who played one of the Patil twins in the Potter films was beaten and called a prostitute by her brother Ashraf Azad after going out with a non-Muslim.
The court heard Azad, 22, was attacked at the family home in Longsight, Manchester soon after filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Richard Vardon QC, prosecuting, told Manchester crown court: “She was the victim of a wholly unnecessary and unpleasant assault by her brother. The reason for the assault, apparently her association with a Hindu young man that apparently was disapproved of by her family, who are Muslim.
“Specifically she spoke not only of assault but also threats to kill, made jointly by her father and brother.”
Despite the prosecution’s attempts to get Azad to testify in court the frightened actress did not turn up as she feared this action might place her in danger.
Her brother Ashraf 28 pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and will be sentenced next month. The judge, Roger Thomas QC, ruled a verdict of not guilty over a charge of threatening to kill her. Azad’s father Abul Azad, 53, was found not guilty of threatening to kill her.
In summing up he said: “Violence in the home is all too prevalent and that sort of
violence can result in imprisonment. Domestic violence is a form of case
that these courts see with daily regularity.”
