Italian court sentenced today Tuesday to life imprisonment a Pakistani couple for the murder of their 18-year-old daughter, who had refused to travel to Pakistan to marry the man her parents had chosen. An uncle of the girl was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while two cousins ​​were acquitted.

The so-called “honor crime” with the 18-year-old victim Shaman Abbas has shocked Italian public opinion.

The young lady lived in the town of Novelara, near Bologna, from where she disappeared in May 2021. She had fallen out with her parents because she refused for months to give in to their pressure to marry a cousin in Pakistan. Before he was even an adult, he had turned to social services and was accommodated for some time in a structure.

She went back to her parents’ house to get some documents she needed. Her family was outraged when they learned that the 18-year-old had an affair the prosecutor said.

In early May, police found the family’s home empty. The 18-year-old was likely murdered sometime between April 30 and May 1, security camera footage suggests, showing five people leaving the house with shovels, crowbars and a bucket, only to return two and a half hours later.

Shaman Abbas’ body was found decomposing not far from the family’s home in November 2022, some 18 months after the murder. Identification was made through analysis of genetic material.

Father Shabar Abbas was arrested in his village in eastern Pakistan, as a suspect in his daughter’s murder and extradited to Italy to stand trial. The mother has disappeared and is being sought by the Pakistani police.

With tears in his eyes, Shabar Abbas insisted he is innocent. “I too want to know who killed my daughter,” he reportedly told the judges, according to Italian reports. He is expected to appeal the first-instance decision.