A PAKISTANI couple was sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court on Tuesday (19) for the 2021 murder of their daughter after she refused an arranged marriage.
Saman Abbas, 18, was living in Novellara near Bologna when she disappeared in May 2021, having rejected the previous year her family's demand that she marry a cousin in Pakistan.
A tribunal in Reggio Emilia in central Italy ruled that the parents ordered the murder, and that an uncle had strangled his niece.
The uncle was sentenced to 14 years after accepting a plea bargain, while two cousins were acquitted in an affair which shocked the country.
Abbas had denounced her parents to the police and social workers placed her in a shelter in November 2020.
But she visited her family in April 2021, planning to pick up her passport and start a new life with her boyfriend, whom her family disapproved of.
She disappeared soon after, and police, alerted by the boyfriend, raided the family home in May but the parents had already left for Pakistan.
The young woman was probably killed the night of April 30 to May 1, according to surveillance camera footage showing five people leaving the family home with shovels, crowbars and buckets, before returning two and a half hours later.
A year later, Abbas's body was found in an abandoned farmhouse with a broken neck.
Her brother told police that he had overheard his father talking about the murder and that it was the uncle who had killed his sister.
The father, Shabbar Abbas, was arrested in Pakistan and extradited to Italy in August 2023.
The uncle, Danish Hasnain, was turned over by French authorities while the cousins were arrested in Spain.
The four men were present at the trial, but the mother, Nazia Shaheen, is still a fugitive.
(AFP)
Pakistani couple sentenced to life in Italy for killing daughter
Saman Abbas, 18, was living in Novellara near Bologna when she disappeared in May 2021, having rejected her family’s demand that she marry a cousin in Pakistan
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)