Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Harry Potter Star Escapes Honor Killing in UK




A Harry Potter actress fled her home after her father and brother threatened to kill her for going out with a Hindu man, a court heard yesterday.

Afshan Azad, 22, who appeared in the blockbuster movies as Padma Patil, was attacked and branded a ‘slag’ when Muslim relatives found out about her boyfriend. The actress was so scared that she escaped out of her bedroom window and later fled her home city.

Police were called and her father, Abul Azad, 54, and brother, Ashraf, 28, were arrested and charged with making threats to kill her. But Miss Azad refused to testify and yesterday failed to turn up at their trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Instead Crown prosecutors decided to accept a guilty plea to assault by her brother while both men were formally found not guilty of making threats to kill.

Her father was said to have threatened to take her to Bangladesh and force her into an arranged marriage.  Miss Azad, who was born in Manchester and is of Bengali descent, attended Xaverian College in the city.  She had no formal acting training but won the part of Padma Patil when casting agents visited her school. They invited her to attend auditions and, after several tests, she was chosen for the role.

Miss Azad has appeared in four of the five film adaptations of JK Rowling’s novels, most recently in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
[Daily Mail - UK]
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