A court in Italy’s Reggio Emilia, about 430 km north of Rome, sentenced the parents and uncle of 18-year-old Saman Abbas for her murder. Saman Abbas was killed over her refusal to marry a cousin back in Pakistan, the court found.
Saman Abbas case: What happened?
Last year in November, Saman Abbas’ body was discovered in an abandoned farmhouse near her father’s workplace in northern Italy. She was last seen walking with her parents a year and a half earlier according to a surveillance footage.
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An autopsy revealed that Saman Abbas had a broken neck bone, indicating that she was strangulated.
Italian prosecutors argued that her family orchestrated her murder on May 1, 2021 following which Abbas’ parents fled to Pakistan.
Having immigrated to Italy as a teenager, Abbas embraced a different lifestyle, discarding the headscarf and choosing her own romantic partner.
The young woman’s social media posts depicted her relationship with a local young man, a choice that angered her parents who insisted she marry a cousin in Pakistan. Saman had reportedly confided in her boyfriend about fearing for her life due to her defiance against marrying an older man in Pakistan.
Court’s verdict in Saman Abbas case
In a verdict handed down on Tuesday (Dec 19), Shabbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen, Saman’s parents, were sentenced to life in prison. Additionally, her uncle, Danish Hasnain, received a 14-year prison term from the court in Reggio Emilia. Two cousins were acquitted and released from custody.
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Shabbar Abbas, extradited from Pakistan in August, maintained his innocence in a tearful statement to the court before sentencing. Meanwhile, Nazia Shaheen, tried in absentia, is believed to be in Pakistan.
What does it mean?
This trial stands out as one of the most high-profile cases in Italy, reflecting the crimes committed against an immigrant girl who resisted familial pressure to conform to a forced marriage.
Arranged marriages are the norm in South Asia. In conservative Pakistan, hundreds of women are murdered every year in so-called “honor killings” carried out by husbands or relatives as a punishment for alleged adultery or other sexual behavior deemed illicit.
