Five men have been sentenced to a combined total of nearly 40 years in prison for the kidnapping and torture of a 21-year-old man. The attack, described by a judge as driven by family 'honor', occurred in Telford, Shropshire, after the victim began a relationship with the sister of two of the perpetrators.

The victim was forcibly taken from his home on December 29 of the previous year by masked assailants. Harrowing footage captured the moment he was dragged from his property in front of his mother and bundled into the boot of a black Audi A4. The kidnappers later stopped to close the boot, which had been left open with the victim's legs protruding. He was then taken to a hired shipping container where he was tied to a chair and subjected to a beating.

Shayyan Hussain, 24, Faheem Chohan, 23, and Ehteshan Hussain, 22, received seven-and-a-half-year sentences, while Jawad Hussain, 21, was sentenced to seven years. All four pleaded guilty to kidnap at Shrewsbury Crown Court. Haider Ali, 22, was sentenced to seven years after a jury found him guilty of kidnap. Ali had arrived at the storage container in a second vehicle and transported some of the gang members away from the scene.

Judge Trevor Meegan stated that the kidnapping was premeditated and showed significant planning, driven by 'honor' rather than impulse. He noted that the Hussain brothers played a leading role in the planning, while Chohan and Jawad Hussain willingly participated in the abduction and assault. The judge characterized the offense as a "deeply troubling offence of abduction and abuse of a young man to terrify and degrade him."

Prosecutor Jack Guise explained that the motive stemmed from the victim's relationship with the sister of the Hussain brothers, despite the families having prior connections from the same village in Pakistan. The court heard that before the kidnapping, attempts were made to warn the victim off the relationship, including cars driving past his house and one of the defendants confronting him with a baseball bat.

On the day of the incident, the victim was at home when an Audi arrived. Three men entered the house, pushed past an electrician, and forcibly removed the victim, bundling him into the car boot. CCTV footage showed his mother attempting to intervene, only to be shoved to the ground.

The victim was taken to a leased storage container where he was stripped, bound to a chair, and punched repeatedly. Videos of the beatings were recorded, and the victim was forced to apologize on camera to the two brothers' father. Following the assault, the gang left the victim tied up and demanded £20,000 from his family, threatening his life.

The abandoned Audi was discovered, and subsequent investigation, including CCTV footage and a video sent to Ali's phone while he was in police custody, led to the identification and arrest of the five men. The victim managed to escape by locking himself inside the Audi during a moment the kidnappers were away from the vehicle, driving himself to safety. He was treated in hospital for facial injuries, including a fractured eye socket, and other bruising.

In a victim impact statement, the young man stated that the experience had significantly altered his life, leading him to "rarely leave the house."