The Italian Supreme Court has upheld life sentences for the parents and three other relatives of 18-year-old Pakistani-born Saman Abbas in a landmark honour killing case. The court also confirmed a 22-year prison sentence for her uncle, bringing to a close one of Italy’s most closely watched cases of gender-based violence.
International Desk: Italy’s highest court has delivered its final verdict in the murder of Saman Abbas, confirming the convictions of five members of her family for her killing in 2021. The court upheld life imprisonment for her father, Shabbar Abbas, her mother, Nazia Shaheen, and her cousins, Ejaz Ikram and Nomanul Haq. It also affirmed the 22-year sentence imposed on her uncle, Danish Hasnain.
Saman, who was of Pakistani origin, was murdered in April 2021 in the northern Italian town of Novellara after refusing to marry a cousin living in Pakistan. Prosecutors argued that her family had been determined to force her into the marriage, but she resisted their demands.
The teenager had first sought help in 2020 after rejecting her family’s plans. While still a minor, she contacted Italy’s social services and police and spent a period in a protected shelter. However, she returned to her family on 11 April 2021. Less than a month later, when police visited the family home on 5 May, they found it deserted. Investigators later established that her parents had fled to Pakistan, while Saman had disappeared.
A crucial breakthrough came with CCTV footage recorded on 29 April 2021, showing five members of the family leaving the property carrying spades, an iron bar and a bucket before returning around two and a half hours later. The footage became one of the prosecution’s most compelling pieces of evidence.
Following the murder, Saman’s parents fled to Pakistan but were subsequently extradited to Italy, where they faced trial alongside other members of the family.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, describing it as the end of a long and painful judicial process. She said that although no ruling could restore Saman’s life, it was essential that those responsible for the “barbaric crime” were held accountable.
Meloni also stressed that Italy would not tolerate anyone attempting to deny women their freedom, dignity or right to life under the guise of cultural or religious traditions.
In a separate case highlighting concerns over forced marriages, a Pakistani couple living in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia were each sentenced last month to two years in prison after being convicted of forcing their 22-year-old daughter to undergo an abortion and attempting to compel her to marry a cousin in Pakistan.
