Honour-killing victim Saman laid to rest

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 26 - Saman Abbas, the 18-year-old Italian-Pakistani woman killed by her family for refusing an arranged marriage in Pakistan in 2021, was laid to rest in the town of Novellara, near Reggio Emilia, on Tuesday.
    "You were always the strongest and bravest sister. I will miss you every day, every moment, every night," were the words of Saman's brother, written on a butterfly-shaped stele to be set next to her grave in Novellara cemetery.
    In December Saman's parents were given life sentences for her murder.
    The mother, Nazia Shaheen, is a fugitive of Italian justice and was not present at the trial after fleeing to Pakistan following the murder.
    The father, Shabbar Abbas, had also left the country but was extradited to Italy from Pakistan and is behind bars.
    Saman's uncle, Danish Hasnain, was given a jail term of 14 years for his involvement in the homicide, while two of her cousins were acquitted.
    Her body was found at a farmhouse near where the family lived in November 2022, 18 months following her disappearance, after the uncle had revealed where she had been buried.
    "This is a small community. Novellara has been accustomed to coexistence, supported by different communities and religions, for decades," Novellara Mayor Elena Carletti told reporters before the funeral.
    "Saman's case shocked the entire community. Such level of violence had never happened before. We could never have imagined something like it." (ANSA).