ROME (AP) – An Italian court of appeals on Friday upheld a life sentence for a Pakistani couple convicted of murdering their 18-year-old daughter in so-called honor murder after refusing to marry. The incident shocked many Italians and became a symbol of the brutal abuse of immigrant women who rebel against inflexible family rules.
A court of appeals in the northern city of Bologna said Saman Abbas, whose body was found on a farm in 2022, was found on the farm 18 months after she disappeared and killed with the participation of the whole family.
The court upheld life sentences for both the teenager’s father, Shabir Abbas, and his mother, Nazia Shaheen. It was also sentenced to life in prison for two cousins who had previously been cleansed by the lower court.
Saman’s uncle, Hasna of Denmark, was also sentenced to 22 years in prison for his involvement in the murder. He had previously been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The trial in Reggio Emilia in northern Italy has become the most famous of several criminal investigations in Italy in recent years, becoming a girl who dealt with the murder or abuse of immigrant women and girls, and rebelled against allegations that they had married someone of their choice.
The so-called killing of honor is common in Pakistan. In Pakistan, families and relatives kill women who do not follow local traditions or culture, or who have decided to marry someone of their choice.
Saman Abbas’ body was excavated in November 2022 at an abandoned farmhouse near the fields where his father worked in northern Italy. Italian prosecutors allege that the woman was murdered by her family on May 1, 2021. A few days later, her parents flew from Milan to Pakistan.
Saman Abbas’ father was later arrested in Pakistan and handed over to Italy for the prosecutor’s office. Her mother was convicted of her absence, but was arrested last May after running for three years.
Abbas’ uncle, two cousins, her father and mother were first brought to trial in February 2023. The defendants denied all misconduct.
Saman Abbas had immigrated from Pakistan to the Novellala farm town in the Emilia Romana region of Italy as a teenager. She quickly embraced the Western way. This included stripping off her scarf and dating a young man of her choice. One social media post showed her and her Pakistani boyfriend kissing on the streets of Bologna, the region’s capital.
Italian investigators said the kiss infuriated Abbas’ parents and wanted to marry her Pakistani cousin.
The young woman last lived on April 30, 2021, and was hundreds of meters (yards) away from where her body was found on surveillance video while walking with her parents on a Watermelon farm where her father worked.
Abbas reportedly told her boyfriend that he was afraid of her life because he refused to marry an older man from his hometown.
An autopsy revealed a broken neck bone. It was probably caused by strangulation.
In 2019, Italy forced Italian citizens or residents even abroad, a crime covered by the Domestic Violence Act.
Following the loss of Abbas, the Italian Union of Islamic Communities issued religious rule that refused to marry forced.
