Italian Court Sentences Parents to Life Imprisonment for 'Honour Killing' of Pakistani Teen

A Pakistani couple has been sentenced to life in prison by Italy for the murder of their 18-year-old daughter, Saman Abbas. Saman's body was discovered under a farmhouse in northern Italy, 18 months after she went missing. Her father, Shabbar Abbas, was arrested in Pakistan and extradited for trial, while his wife, Nazia Shaheen, received her sentence in absentia as she is believed to be hiding in Pakistan. The honor killing of Saman Abbas shocked Italy, prompting the country's union of Islamic communities to issue a religious ruling against forced marriages. The couple was convicted and sentenced by a court in Reggio Emilia, with Shabbar Abbas maintaining his innocence throughout the trial. Saman Abbas had migrated with her family from Pakistan to Novellara, where she dated a man of her choice, causing anger among her parents. Italian investigators revealed that her parents wanted her to go to Pakistan for an arranged marriage, but Saman refused. She had briefly lived under the protection of social services but returned home and disappeared shortly after. CCTV footage captured three of her family members carrying suspicious items, and subsequent footage showed Saman leaving her house with her parents. An autopsy confirmed that she had suffered a broken neck bone, likely caused by strangulation. "Honor killings" are largely driven by tribal customs, where allegations against a woman bring dishonor to her family. These customs demand that male family members first kill the woman and then the man she has had contact with. "Honor killings" commonly occur when victims refuse arranged marriages, have been sexually assaulted, or engage in behavior considered disobedient or inappropriate. Pakistan witnesses hundreds of these killings annually, with a smaller number involving men as victims. Recently, an 18-year-old woman was killed in Kohistan by her father and uncle based on instructions from tribal elders due to a doctored photo of her with a man. Her father has been arrested, while her uncle remains at large.