Briton accused of ordering his lover to drown her baby as they spoke online tells murder trial he tried to stop her from abusing the child

Ammaz Qureshi, 35, says he tried to stop 'hideous' abuse



The British accountant is charged with murder in Norway

Accused of telling mistress to dunk her baby in water over Skype

The child had allegedly interrupted their secret online chat by crying

The moth er also filled the mouth of her daughter with chilli

Denies murder: Ammaz Qureshi, 35, is on trial charged with the killing of a one-year-old in Norway

A British accountant has claimed he tried to stop the abuse that led to his lover killing her child live on Skype 1,100 miles away.



Ammaz Qureshi told a court in Norway that he had been 'shocked' when he heard the mother Yasmin Chaudhry, 28, filled the mouth of her 22-month-old daughter Huaina with chilli.



The 35-year-old is accused of telling the baby's mother, 28-year-old Yasmin Chaudhry, to submerge the child in a bucket of water after the child interrupted their online chat.

But the arried accountant, of Pinner, north London, has denied that he had instructed her to discipline the girl.

The pair both went on trial in Oslo charged with premeditated murder and assault.

'I thought it was hideous,' he said. 'It was not a punishment, but because it was funny. The baby made a face and its eyes filled with tears.'



Qureshi allegedly instructed her to hold the baby by the ankles and dunk her head into a bucket of water.

After the girl was submerged the second time, she lost consciousness, after which Chaudhry called an ambulance. She died the next day in hospital.

Qureshi claimed that rather than encourage Chaudhry to do this, he had been appalled when it happened.



'I was stunned,' he told the court. '"This must never do again, it is completely wrong," I said. "She's just a baby."'

He has denied all the charges as 'completely erroneous', TheLocal.no reported.



'The picture is drawn of me so far in this trial is entirely false, and I will try to show this as best I can,' he told the court on Wednesday.



The pair, whose calls were monitored by the authorities, also stand accused of gagging the infant with adhesive tape, giving it cold showers and slapping it around the face.



Qureshi was introduced to Chaudhry by her brother in London in February 2010.

Accusations: District Attorney Cecilie Schløsser Møller says Qureshi 'anticipated' the little girl's death

Control: Qureshi is accused of masterminding months of abuse against the child before her death in October 2010, as he stayed in touch with his mistress via online chats and texts Qureshi, 35, is said to have told the baby's mother, 28-year-old Yasmin Chaudhry, to submerge her one-year-old daughter in a bucket of water after the child interrupted their Skype chat

After she returned to Oslo two months later, they continued their relationship by text and over the Internet.

Oslo District Attorney Cecilie Schlosser Moller told Norway's TV2 before the trial: 'She was subjected to physical violence during disciplining.

'In the end, it went too far and she died.

'By submerging the girl in the bucket, they would have anticipated her death. She was a small, defenceless girl who was subjected to extensive abuse.'

Qureshi has been in custody in Oslo for more than a year, following his extradition to Norway. He and Chaudhry both deny murder, but the mother has pleaded guilty to abusing her child.

She blames Qureshi - who is not the child's father - for the child's death by telling her to submerge her daughter in water.

Qureshi's lawyer Vibeke Hein Baera told the court: 'He denies the accusations of premeditated murder and assault.

'My client is baffled that he is accused of a crime committed in a country which he - at that point in time - had never set foot in.'