After allegedly instructing a Norwegian mother over Skype to submerge her one-year-old girl in a bucket of water, a British man has been charged with the girl's death, UK MailOnline reported.
Ammaz Qureshi, 35, of Pinner, North London is said to have told his 28-year-old mistress to punish the child when her cries interrupted their online chat, and then watched as the toddler was tortured.
After being extradited from Britain in December 2012, Qureshi is now facing charges of premeditated murder and assault in Oslo.
According to UK MailOnline, Qureshi is accused of masterminding months of abuse against the child, including forcing her to eat chili powder, making her stay awake, and binding her legs for hours on end.
Yasmin Chaudhry was introduced to Qureshi, an accountant, by her brother when she visited London in February 2010. Despite having been married for seven years, he began a sexual relationship with her. The relationship continued online and over text after Chaudhry returned to Oslo in April 2010.
Qureshi is said to have watched on Skype from his London home as Chaudhry dunked the toddler's head under the water after the child's screams interrupted their online conversation in October 2010, according to UK MailOnline.
The girl lost consciousness after she was submerged the second time. Chaudhry called emergency services, but the girl died the next day. Upon her arrest, Chaudhry claimed Qureshi had been directing her to abuse the child since their relationship began.
Prosecutors claim Qureshi, who was not the father of the child, instructed Chaudhry to carry out cruel abuse against her daughter, such as spraying the girl in the face with a bottle of water, forcing her to sleep on the floor and had her head held under running water in the sink, UK MailOnline reported.
"She was subjected to physical violence during disciplining. In the end, it went too far and she died," Oslo District Attorney Cecilie Schlosser Moller told TV2. "By submerging the girl in the bucket, they would have anticipated her death. She was a small, defenseless girl who was subjected to extensive abuse."
Qureshi has been in custody in Oslo for more than a year, following his extradition, and proclaims that he is innocent, UK MailOnline reported.
"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," said defense attorney Vibeke Hein Baera. "He also says that he has not contributed to this in any kind of way, in fact the opposite."
Though Chaudhry denies premeditated murder, she has admitted to abusing her child. Her trial is set to start in Oslo District Court in 2014.
