‘Killer' accused of murdering beauty queen ‘fled to UK on small boat' as heartbroken dad fears he'll never get justice
Ibrahim Ghazal, from Lebanon, is alleged to have suffocated Zeina Kanjo to death in Beirut before moving around Europe for years.
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The 36-year-old - who is subject to an Interpol red notice - eventually travelled to Britain from France this year along with thousands of other migrants.
Ghazal was jailed last week jailed for nine months for attempting to arrive without valid entry clearance after being arrested by Border Force.
Government officials are facing a possible crisis ahead of his sentence expiring.
Ms Kanjo's dad Mohammed fears his daughter will never get justice if the alleged killer returns to Lebanon and is hopeful the British legal system can step up.
There are fears Ghazal could do the same to remain in Britain.
Ms Kanjo, 33, was murdered in January 2021, having apparently got married just four months earlier.
Her death sparked a national debate in Lebanon about domestic abuse.
Ms Kanjo had filed domestic violence and fraud cases against her new husband and was trying to divorce him when she was killed, according to reports.
She had represented her country at a beauty contest in Egypt the previous year.
Ghazal allegedly fled to Turkey hours after his wife's death.
Lebanese channel Al Jadeed broadcast an audio recording in which he allegedly admitted to the murder.
Speaking to Ms Kanjo's sister, the person says: "I didn't want to, I didn't want her to die, when she was screaming, I just put my hand on her mouth."
Ghazal is understood to have travelled through Greece, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
He was arrested in December 2022 in Stokholm under Interpol's red notice.
However, Swedish laws prevented him from being extradited back home where he said he faced execution, and when he was detained again in Germany, the same thing happened, according to Ms Kanjo's lawyer Ashraf Al-Moussawi.
Mr Al-Moussawi has pointed out Lebanon has not carried out an execution since 1994 and so this should not have been used as a defence.
He added the alleged killer then "wandered Europe until his recent arrest in England".
The lawyer has urged the British government to find a way to send Ghazal back to his homeland to face justice.
Ms Kanjo's dad Mohammed claims his daughter's husband had sneaked back into Lebanon to attend his cousin's wedding a year after his wife's death.
"After all this time, I'm left wondering if justice will ever be served," he told the Mail.
"It's like something is missing from your body, something that is not replaceable.
"I honestly hope he's not handed over to Lebanese authorities only to be imprisoned and then released again."
He added perhaps the UK legal system can "find a way to properly punish him".
Ghazal was detained by Border Force and jailed at Gloucester Crown Court last Wednesday after admitting to entering the country unlawfully.
A Government spokesman said: "The Home Office never comments on whether extradition requests have or have not been received, and it is also our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.
"However, we will always do everything in our power to remove serious foreign criminals from the UK so they are not left free on our streets after completing their sentence."
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