Pregnant woman’s haunting final words helped jail abusive partner who pushed her off a cliff

Warning: This article contains discussion of domestic violence which some readers may find distressing

The devastating final words of a pregnant woman went on to help jail her abusive partner who was responsible for her death.

In September 2021, Fawziyah Javed was thrown 50ft off Edinburgh's famous hill, Arthur's Seat, by her husband Kashif Anwar after a length of abuse in their relationship.

The Leeds woman, who was pregnant at the time, had even documented the ongoing abuse, which provided the courts with evidence against Kashif from beyond the grave.

A recent Channel 4 documentary The Push: Murder on the Cliff, tells the story of the case, but also reveals the final words of the soon-to-be-mum to a passerby before she died.

During the trial, Kashif was adamant that his wife had simply fallen, and he had tried to save her by attempting to grab her arm.

However, after phone calls which had been secretly recorded by his victim were heard in court detailing the way in which he spoke to her and the threats he made, it was clear - Fawziyah had been pushed.

According to the authorities, Kashif had taken her to the hillside spot in the evening, where she would die at 10.18pm that night.

Daniyah Rafique is the passerby who reached the poor woman on the side of the hill where she uttered her last words.

She told her: “Don't let my husband near me, he pushed me.”

Alex Prentice KC, the lead prosecutor in the case, said in the doc that the evidence Fawziyah had been collecting was crucial to the case.

As she had already been to the police about him twice, there was a record of his abusive behaviour.

But she couldn’t have known that the second visit she had made to the police would be her last, as she was pushed just days later.

In some of the recordings, you can hear her say to him: “Do I not have a say in how I want my life with you?" to which her husband then tells her: “You're being a b***h.

“Why the f**k are you not listening to me? You're not a man, so start behaving like a woman. Why the f**k did you decide to ruin my f***ing life? I tell you one thing - you end this and I'll ruin yours. You know what, Fawziyah? I mean it.”

Speaking in the new Channel 4 documentary, Prentice added: “Fawziyah collected a great deal of evidence which formed the pillar of the prosecution case.

“The evidence of what Fawziyah said was crucial. It was effectively Fawziyah speaking to the jury.

“I have prosecuted many murder cases over the course of my career but for a variety of reasons this case is extraordinary.”

Kashif was jailed for at least 20 years after being found guilty of the murder during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

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