A court in Italy has sentenced a Pakistani couple to life imprisonment for killing their 18-year-old daughter after she refused an arranged marriage.
Prosecutors said Saman Abbas was killed by her family on May 1, 2021. Her body was found in November last year in an abandoned farmhouse in northern Italy, 18 months after she went missing.
Her parents Shabbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen were sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday. Her uncle, Danish Hasnain, was given a 14-year sentence by a court in the northern city of Reggio Emilia.
Abbas was extradited from his village in eastern Pakistan, while his wife is believed to be hiding in Pakistan and was convicted in absentia.
Abbas professed his innocence during an emotional statement to the court before the judge's deliberations.
He told the court: “This trial is not complete. I too want to know who killed my daughter.”
According to prosecutors, a photo of Ms Abbas kissing her boyfriend was seen by her parents who wanted her to travel to Pakistan for an arranged marriage.
She was reportedly in the care of social services in October 2020 but returned to her parent’s in Novellara in April 2021 after she received several messages from them.
CCTV footage released by the police revealed her parents and her uncle walking with spades, a crowbar and a blue bag on April 29, 2021.
The autopsy revealed she had suffered a broken neck bone as a result of possible strangulation.
The case comes in the wake of protests over femicide rates in the country. The recent killing of university student Giulia Cecchettin by her ex-boyfriend sparked a wave of demonstrations across Italy.
In the past year femicide cases have risen by 16 percent, according to data published by the interior ministry.
Honour killing refers to the practice of killing women or girls who bring dishonour to the family by breaking religious and cultural rules.
Hundreds of women in Pakistan face this each year. Despite Pakistan’s tight laws banning the practice, it continues with more than 470 cases reported in 2022, according to human rights groups.
