Pakistan court sentences four to death over ‘honor killing’

Murder of pregnant woman sparked international outcry in May.

Pakistani human rights activists hold placards during a protest in Islamabad in May after the brutal murder of Farzana Parveen who was pregnant at the time she was beaten to death with bricks by members of her own family

Lahore:  A Pakistan court sentenced four men to death on Wednesday for murdering a pregnant relative who went against their wishes and married without their consent.

The men battered 25-year-old Farzana Parveen to death in May this year on a busy street outside the High Court in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province.

The woman had arrived at the court to contest allegations by her father that she had been kidnapped by her husband and that her marriage was invalid.

She was struck at least three times with a brick during a scuffle between members of her family and relatives of her husband.

The murder shocked many in Pakistan even though honor killings are common in the country.

The killing also sparked an international outcry, drawing condemnation from human rights groups and officials in the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.

Judge Haroon Latif found Parveen’s father Mohammad Azeem, brother Zahid Iqbal, former husband Mazhar Abbas and cousin Jahan Khan guilty of murder on Wednesday and sentenced them to death.

Calling the murder “gruesome, brutal and reminiscent of the Dark Ages”, he also sentenced Ghulam Ali, another brother of the victim, to 10 years in jail.

Local media quoted the judge as also saying that the murder — having taken place near the High Court — caused fear and outrage among individuals who come to courts to seek protection against oppression.

“This judgment will enhance people’s confidence in the judicial system,” said Rana Maqbool Ahmad, adviser to the Punjab minister for prosecution.

Mansoor Afridi, a lawyer for the defendants, said he would file an appeal against the sentences.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), an independent rights group, reported that 869 women were murdered in so-called 'honor' killings last year, but the real figure could be much higher, with many such killings believed to be disguised as accidents, or not reported at all.

Source: ucanews.com