Saman Abbas’ Cousin Clams Up

I’ve posted a number of times on the case of Saman Abbas, a young Pakistani woman in Italy who disappeared and is assumed to have been a victim of an “honor killing” (see previously here, here, here, here, here, and here).

This latest report concerns the same cousin that was featured in the last report, who was captured in Barcelona and has been extradited to Italy.

Many thanks to Gary Fouse for translating this article from Il Giornale:

Saman’s cousin doesn’t answer the magistrates

by Rosa Scognamiglio
March 25, 2022

Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq, the cousin of Saman Abbas, did not respond to the questions of the prosecutor. “My client claims he is unrelated to the facts,” the lawyer says.

Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq, the cousin of Saman Abbas, under investigation for murder and concealing the body of the young girl who disappeared on April 30, 2021, from Novellara, Reggio Emiliano, invoked his right to remain silent. “My client claims he is unrelated to the facts,” stated the attorney for the 35-year-old Pakistani, Luigi Scarcella, at the conclusion of the interrogation.

The interrogation

The interrogation began at 12 this morning. Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq preferred not to answer the questions of prosecutor Laura Galli and investigating judge Luca Ramponi, chief of the investigation into the homicide of the 18-year-old Pakistani girl. The 35-year-old, in video hookup from the jail at Reggio Emilia where he has been held since last Tuesday, invoked the right of not answering, using, in fact, the same defensive strategy of Ikram Ijaz (the other cousin of Saman) and of the uncle, Danish Hasnain, considered by investigators to be the “material perpetrator of the crime”. There are still fugitives in Pakistan, however, the parents of the girl, Shabbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen, for whom there is an international arrest warrant outstanding. According to the investigators, they are alleged to have planned the homicide of their first child because she was reportedly opposed to the forced marriage to a cousin in her homeland.

“Unrelated to the facts”

“My client contested all the charges against him and stated he was unrelated to the facts,” attorney Luigi Scarcella, lawyer for Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq, noted at the conclusion of today’s hearing. The 35-year-old, a fugitive for more than nine months, was captured in Barcelona on February 14 following intense activity by the Investigative Unit of the Carabinieri of Reggio Emilia, assisted by the Police International Cooperation Service (SCIP) of the Department of Public Security. The extradition was concluded Tuesday morning when the Pakistani landed at the “Marconi” airport of Bologna. Escorted by Carabinieri of the Provincial Command of Reggio Emilia, he was then taken to the Reggio jail awaiting interrogation.

The video

In support of the alleged involvement of Saman’s relatives in the criminal plan, there is reportedly a video that records a group of three persons heading for the fields near the residence of Saman in Novellara. The recording is time-stamped 29 April 2021. The three individuals are carrying two shovels and a bucket, as well as a blue bag and a crowbar. In other video segments, the same persons are seen returning after about two and a half hours. The subsequent investigative developments have confirmed they were Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq, Ikram Ijaz, and Danish Hasnain.

One thought on “Saman Abbas’ Cousin Clams Up

  1. Weave a basket around his head and introduce some rats.

    It worked for Winston Smith.

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