Convicted: Pakistani Teen Murdered in Italy for Rejecting Arranged Marriage
The parents and uncle of an 18-year-old Pakistani woman, Saman Abbas, were convicted of her murder in Italy after she refused to marry a cousin in their homeland. Saman's body was found in an abandoned farmhouse a year and a half after she went missing. Her parents were sentenced to life in prison, while her uncle received a 14-year prison term. Two cousins were found not guilty. The trial is part of a series of criminal investigations in Italy involving the mistreatment of immigrant women who resist arranged marriages. Saman had embraced Western ways and had a boyfriend, which angered her parents. She had expressed fear for her life due to her refusal to marry an older man in Pakistan.
