A Sudanese woman has been accused of murdering her own three children, including a nine-month-old baby boy, at a home in Bristol in the early hours of Saturday evening.
The children are believed to be Fares Bash, a seven-year-old-boy, Joury Bash, a three-year-old girl, and Mohammed Bash, a nine-month-old baby boy. (pictured)
The 42-year-old woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is being held in custody in hospital, where she is recovering from what are described as 'non life-threatening injuries.'
Avon and Somerset Police said post-mortem examinations are expected to be finished by the end of the week.
It is understood that the woman, and her then husband, had moved from Sudan to the UK seven years ago, and had joined the local Sudanese Islamic community in Bristol. According to locals, the woman had not settled in Britain and had rapidly begun to have mental health issues. The woman is said to have been struggling with her 'mental health' and had been in contact with social services.
Avon and Somerset police had refused to release details of the women for two days, preferring to make vague references to the 'local community' which is known to be cryptic for immigrants.
Chief Inspector Vicks Hayward-Melen, in a press conference outside the family home in the suburb of Sea Mills, confirmed that next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers. She said: “We have been humbled by the community response to this tragedy. At a time of great sadness and disbelief, we’ve seen spontaneous acts of care and support.
Within hours of the incident occurring, a local church opened its doors for people to gather and mourn. However, this was later reported to have been a waste of time as that local community are predominantly Islamic. Undeterred a Church spokesman said: “The death of such young children is a great shock to the whole community, and this incident has had a profound and deep impact on all of us in the police.”
"Jinn"
A motive for the murders has not yet been given. However, there is a belief within Islam that evil spirits, called 'Jinn' can possess children as well as adults. In Islam, the belief that spiritual entities—particularly, jinn—can possess a person is widespread; as is the belief that the jinn and devils can be expelled from the possessed person through exorcism. This practice is called al-'azm 98 or ruqya and exorcists are called raqi. Those exorcisms can become violent, and, in some cases, have caused the death of the child supposedly possessed.
However, this does not fit the narrative and so there has been a concerted effort by the establishment to pass-off this widespread Islamic practice as a mental health issue. Cambridge University have been at the forefront of this deception with papers such as: Jinn and mental health: looking at jinn possession in modern psychiatric practice among others.
it is likely that a 'mental health' verdict will be given for these murders in the coming days and no mention of the 'widespread religious practice' will be made again.