The Italian Supreme Court on Wednesday delivered its final verdict in the case of a young woman killed five years ago for refusing an arranged marriage, making final the murder convictions of five of her relatives, Italy’s leading news agency ANSA reported.
Saman Abbas, an 18-year-old girl of Pakistani origin living in Italy, was murdered by her family in Italy’s Novellara in the spring of 2021 for refusing an arranged marriage in Pakistan.
The Supreme Court of Cassation — Italy’s highest court of appeal — upheld the murder convictions and life sentences of Abbas’ parents, Shabbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen, as well as her cousins Ijaz Ikram and Nomanul Haq, and also upheld the 22-year prison sentence of her uncle, Danish Hasnain, according to ANSA.
Abbas had in 2020 rebelled against her family’s plan to marry her to a cousin in Pakistan.
While still a minor, she sought help from social services and was moved to a shelter home in November. She also reported her parents to the police, but returned to them on April 11, 2021.
