Freed doctor arrives back in UK

Dr Abedin came to Britain in September 2002 to study in Leeds

An NHS doctor who was freed following claims that she was being held captive by her parents in Bangladesh has arrived back in the UK.

Lawyers for trainee GP Humayra Abedin, 33, from east London, said her family planned to force her into marriage.

London's High Court had ordered her return to the UK under the new Forced Marriage Act.

Arriving at Heathrow airport on Tuesday morning, Dr Abedin said: "I'm exhausted, but very happy to be home."

Dr Abedin had been due to return to Britain from Dhaka on Monday, but her flight was delayed.

Upon arriving, she was escorted to the passport control area by two police officers and airport officials.

Her lawyer representing her in the UK, Anne-Marie Hutchinson, said special arrangements had been made so she did not have to walk through the terminal.

'Not acceptable'

Dr Abedin arrived in Britain in September 2002, when she studied for a Masters degree in public health at Leeds University.

She had been due to start work in August at a GP surgery in east London, but travelled to Dhaka after being told that her mother was ill.

The BBC's Mark Dummett in Dhaka said Dr Abedin had been held captive first at her family's home and then at a psychiatric hospital following claims she was not able to make decisions for herself.

But she had managed to get messages to her friends in the UK about her plight who then notified the British authorities, he said.

On Sunday, the High Court in Dhaka ruled she must be freed after Judge Syed Mahmud Hossain said her parents' actions were "not acceptable".

Dr Abedin has chosen not to press charges against her parents.