Italy upholds sentencing for ‘barbaric’ murderers of honor killed teenager Saman Abbas

Italy's Court of Cassation upheld the sentences for the relatives involved in the honor killing of 18-year-old Saman Abbas, five years after her murder for refusing an arranged marriage. The court rejected appeals, affirming life sentences for her parents, Habbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen, and cousins Noman Ul Haq and Ijaz Ikram, for murder and suppression of a corpse. Her uncle, Danish Hasnain, received a 22-year sentence. Attorney-general Marco Dall'Olio stated it was "not a crime of impulse but a premeditated act." Abbas was murdered between April 30 and May 1, 2021, in Novellara di Reggio Emilia, and her body was found 18 months later after her uncle's questioning. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni commented, "With the final verdict for the murder of Saman Abbas, a painful judicial saga comes to a close."