UK Councillor targeted for “Western” dress

Emdad Rahman - East India and Lansbury councillor Shiria Khatun has spoken to the Police after being subjected to malicious phone calls and threats. The calls, mainly of a sexually explicit nature have led to the councillor now starting to wear loose-fitting and traditional Asian attire.

The vile calls have now begun to target Councillor Khatun’s family, including her husband and three children.

The Labour Councillor has been a target for over a year by callers mostly speaking in broken English and the local Sylheti dialect. Khatun felt “too embarrassed” to initially report matters took decisive action when her family were targeted.

One macabre instance is when a caller threatened to dig her parents out of their graves and bury her in their place.

“As an elected councillor I am supposed to be strong, but now this has gone too far,” she said.

The councillor said that the depraved callers had made lewd references to her “Western clothes, my tight jeans and my body parts.”

“I first thought that this was the work of a pervert, but gradually things became scarier and worse. I lost my parents as a young age, and I’m suspicious that the callers knew this.”

“Everything digital, be it online or on the telephone can be traced,” said Abid from Whitechapel. The Police have absolutely no reason to not catch these people.

“This is horrendous. A Councillor who works tirelessly for our community is threatened. I’m afraid this is beyond a joke, and I fully expect the authorities to catch, prosecute and heavily punish these people as an example.”

A diligent advisor to ex Mayor Ken Livingstone, Councillor Khatun is one of the most popular Councillors in the borough.

The Police are investigating the matter.

Pic - Emdad Rahman