In April of 2021 a young Pakistani woman named Saman Abbas disappeared in Italy, and was presumed to have been “honor-killed” by her parents and male relatives. Below is another new report with information on the case.

Many thanks to Gary Fouse for translating this article from Corriere della Sera:

Saman Abbas: In Pakistan, the federal police on the trail of the father to arrest him

by Alessandro Fulloni and Andrea Pasqualetto

New impetus for the investigation. The girl’s brother: “ I looked for the body in the greenhouses.” Three months before she disappeared, she had written her black list with five names: all under investigation. The interviews: How it went that night.

The searches

A risk that seems to have been averted last year by a sort of protection on the part of the local police in Punjab, where the Abbas’ reside. But which now could turn through the federal police of Pakistan, which depends on the army. This, at least, is the news that comes back from Islamabad. Last year, everything had been grounded on the part of the Pakistan national cabinet chaired by the prime minister. The Pakistani magistrate had to respond to the Italian letters rogatory, proceeding to the examination of the documentation from Reggio Emilia through Rome, in order to then proceed to arrest. “But no response, of any kind, ever arrived,” the Foreign Ministry explains. But now there is this new impetus.

I looked for her in the greenhouses

Returning to the dramatic evening, the brother understood everything, and it was confirmed to him by the uncle, Danish, accused of being the material perpetrator of the crime: “I killed her; don’t say anything to the Carabinieri.” The boy, who had seen the uncle take Saman away while putting a hand over her mouth, gasped. He asked where his sister was. “I wanted to hug her for the last time, but he answered that he couldn’t tell me.” Given the circumstances and the times, he thought that Danish had killed her in a greenhouse on the farm, perhaps strangling her, imagining also that he might have cut her into pieces and buried her or thrown her into the Po river. “In Pakistan, that’s how they do it.” They do this with women who betray or refuse an arranged marriage, Saman’s sin. With this frightening idea that evening, the brother of Saman, therefore, went to close the greenhouses.” First, I walked around inside looking for my sister’s body, but I didn’t find it.”

Saman was not afraid

He had his heart in his throat and a sense of infinite guilt. It was he who showed the photo of the kiss with a boyfriend disliked by the family. And it was always he who kept them up to date on her relationships, naturally, without imagining the tragic consequences. “My sister had already escaped two times, once in Belgium and one time from the community, and in our religion, that’s a big mistake…” the boy said on May 15, 2021, noting that he had always feared his uncle a lot: “She, on the other hand, had no fear of him and talked back to him, and this he didn’t like.” It was always like that. And in that period, the situation had further worsened.

The black list

Saman may not have been afraid, but she very clearly had the names and telephone numbers of her relatives and people who could have done her harm. She had written them down three months before her disappearance. On February 4, 2021, she sent them to her boyfriend in a chat, which were acquired by the Reggio Emilia Carabinieri in their files. Among others, there are the five who are charged with homicide: the parents, the uncle Danish, the cousins Ikram and Nomanhulaq, the last three arrested in recent months after fleeing abroad. Besides them, Saman also pointed out her younger brother, another cousin, and another uncle, who are not under investigation, however.

The last night

A younger brother who, however, regretted having informed his parents about his sister’s emotional relationship. And he told the investigators everything. The last night he went to sleep with Saman and then woke up suddenly. “Because of the shouts of my sister and my parents. I went down and saw the fight. She said she wanted to go away and she didn’t want to marry that guy [referring to the arranged marriage in Pakistan — translator].” Saman asked for her papers. “And she managed to get them, came into the room, prepared her things, took a bag, and left the house.” Then the father called the uncle, Danish. “My mother was desperate and beat her chest with her hands because Saman had left. My father was also sick and was dizzy. My father left to look for Saman. I don’t know where he went; it was dark. He was outside two or three minutes.” Then the uncle arrived. “Now go back in the house, I’ll take care of it,” he said to the parents, who were outside. The uncle reportedly gave his backpack to the father, telling him to hide it. After an hour, he reportedly returned and cried. “I have killed her, don’t say anything to the Carabinieri.” The brother loved Saman, he said: “When she came back home, I was so happy that I hugged and kissed her.”

Previous posts about the honor killing of Saman Abbas: