Forced wedding GP seeks annulment

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/london/7791167.stm

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An NHS doctor who claimed she was forced into a marriage in Bangladesh is seeking an annulment to the union in the British courts.

Dr Humayra Abedin, 33, from east London, returned to the UK on Tuesday as a result of a British court order made under the new Forced Marriage Act.

She was held captive by her parents for four months and in November made to marry a man without her consent.

Dr Abedin is to go to the High Court on Friday to get the marriage dissolved.

The High Court in London issued the order while she was still in Bangladesh under new legislation which allows British courts to prevent someone from being forced into marriage.

Dr Abedin's British lawyer, Anne-Marie Hutchinson, said proceedings under the act will be heard at the High Court before Mr Justice Coleridge on Friday morning.

Under duress

In a statement issued by Ms Hutchinson after her return to London, Dr Abedin said: "On 14 November 2008, I was forced to marry a person of my parents' choice.

"I was removed to another province of Bangladesh. I entered into the marriage ceremony under duress. I did not consent to the marriage."

Dr Abedin came to the UK six years ago to study for a Masters degree in public health at Leeds University.

She had hoped to become a registrar at a GP surgery in east London in August but, after receiving news her mother had taken ill, returned to the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, where she was then allegedly held captive.

While in captivity, Dr Abedin raised the alarm by sending an email to a friend asking for help.