The supermodel wife of a wealthy recruitment boss jailed for hurling death threats and racist abuse at cabin crew after bingeing on champagne has seemingly defended her disgraced husband, declaring “behind every story there is pain”.
Salman Iftikhar, 37, was flying first class when he told stewardess Angie Walsh she would be gang raped and set alight the Virgin Atlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, Pakistan.
Iftikhar was travelling with one his two wives and three children at the time of the incident on February 7, 2023, Isleworth Crown Court heard.
Shocking footage shows Iftikhar repeatedly accusing Ms Walsh of racism, adding: “You called me a p*** in front of everybody.”
He went on to say he knew where Ms Walsh lived in Cardiff before shouting: “The white sheep sh****** b**** will be dead.”
He was jailed for 15 months after he left Ms Walsh “broken” and “traumatised” after he told her during his drunken tirade she would be dragged out of her hotel room and assaulted.
Now one of his wives, Abeer Rizvi, 37, who won the 2012 edition of the Pakistani reality television show Veet Miss Super Model, has taken to social media, seemingly to defend her partner to her 407,000 Instagram followers.
She posted a story on Thursday which read: “Mental health is not a joke. Behind every story there is pain you don’t see. Before judging, try understanding. Be kind. Be human.”
At the time of his arrest, Iftikhar was living in his £2 million house in Iver, Buckinghamshire with his other wife, Erum Salman, 38, who is the mother of his children.
The pair, who own a range of expensive cars, including a Range Rover, Bentley and Rolls-Royce, run London-based Staffing Match that provides training to businesses working in customer service and manufacturing.
However, the pair had a “rocky marriage and would argue quite a bit”, those known to the couple told the Daily Mail.
Iftikhar previously owned aviation recruitment firm Core Labour Supply Ltd, although it went into administration owing more than £11 million to HMRC.
A neighbour of Iftikhar said: “He’s definitely very flash, someone who likes to flaunt his wealth. He only ever really said hello or anything like that to me when he first moved in.”
Iftikhar has six previous convictions arising from 15 offences, including common assault and drink driving.
Ben Walker-Nolan, defending Iftikhar, claimed Iftikhar was suffering from “amnesia blood loss”, which contributed to what happened 39,000ft in the air.
Ms Walsh sat in court accompanied by her sister Claire, who is also a Virgin Atlantic flight attendant, in their uniforms.
Iftikhar admitted making threats to kill and racially aggravated harassment in relation to Ms Walsh. He was cleared of assault by beating and threats to kill in relation to Tommy Merchant, another crew member.
Family members wept in the public gallery as the judge Ms Recorder Annabel Darlow KC said: “Your threats to kill were made in the presence of children, specifically your three young children. These were threats made with significant violence. Your children had to be comforted by cabin crew staff while you made those threats.
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“Ms Walsh has given up a job which she has loved for 14 months, but thankfully has now returned to work.”
“This was a sustained incident which involved repeated racist abuse to Ms Walsh. You have a lengthy and appalling record of misconduct. You have not addressed the underlying cause of this for many years, that is your drug and alcohol problem.
“Given your lifestyle and your ability to earn money, your harm and risk has not moved. This was an appalling incident which has caused long lasting and devastating consequences.”
A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: “The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority, and we take a zero-tolerance approach to any disruptive or abusive behaviour on board our aircraft.
“We will always work closely with the relevant authorities and will not hesitate to seek prosecution for those individuals that cause disruption onboard through unacceptable behaviour.”
“We’re incredibly grateful to Angie and our cabin crew onboard who dealt with this distressing situation in a calm, courageous and professional manner. We are proud of Angie for her bravery in court and we will continue to offer her our full support.”
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