An Italian court sentenced a couple from Pakistan to life imprisonment for the murder of their daughter
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An Italian court has sentenced a Pakistani couple to life in prison for killing their 18-year-old daughter who refused to go to Pakistan for an arranged marriage.
As Reuters reports, the body of Saman Abbas was found on a farm in the north of the country 18 months after her disappearance – in November 2022. The girl was identified thanks to her dental card.
Her father, Shabbar Abbas, was arrested in Pakistan and extradited to Italy in August to stand trial for his daughter’s murder. The mother, Nazia Shaheen, was convicted in absentia because she is hiding in Pakistan.
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The girl’s uncle, Danish Hasnaina, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his involvement in the murder.
At the trial, Shabbar Abbas wept and vehemently denied his guilt. He told the court that “never in my life did I think of killing my daughter.”
The case was considered by the court of first instance, so the verdict can still be appealed.
What is known about the murder of Saman Abbas?
The murder of Saman Abbas shocked Italy. The girl emigrated with her family from Pakistan to the farming town of Novellar in 2016.
As the BBC writes, there she started dating a guy of Pakistani origin. A photo of them kissing on the street in Bologna allegedly angered her parents.
Italian investigators said Saman Abbas’ parents wanted her to go to Pakistan and enter into an arranged marriage in 2020, but the girl refused.
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She then lived under the protection of social services for several months, but returned to the family home in Novellar after a flurry of messages from relatives. Prosecutors said she was tricked into returning home. Then the girl disappeared.
CCTV footage released by the police shows that on April 29, 2021, members of the Saman Abbas family were walking with shovels, a crowbar and a blue bag. The next day, the girl left the house with her parents, but never returned.
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| Screen from surveillance cameras |
Saman’s body was found near a farmhouse not far from her family’s home. Her uncle told about the girl’s burial place.
A forensic examination showed that Saman Abbas suffered a fractured neck, probably as a result of strangulation.
After the girl’s disappearance, the Italian Union of Islamic Communities issued a fatwa, a religious ruling that prohibits forced marriages.
Read also: “He went to partisanship for the sake of the children.” The story of a family-type orphanage, whose father was killed by the Russians
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