Meloni reacts after Italian SC upholds sentences of family members of Pakistani girl killed for refusing arranged marriage

Italy's Supreme Court has upheld the life sentences of five family members of Pakistani-origin teenager Saman Abbas, bringing the long-running murder case to a close, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court of Cassation confirmed the life sentences of Abbas' parents, Shabbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen, along with her cousins Ijaz Ikram and Nomanul Haq. The court also upheld the 22-year prison sentence handed to her uncle, Danish Hasnain.

Saman Abbas, 18, was killed in the northern Italian town of Novellara in 2021 after refusing to marry a cousin in Pakistan in what prosecutors described as an arranged marriage.

Before her death, Abbas had sought help from social services and was moved to a shelter in late 2020. She also filed a complaint against her parents but returned to live with her family in April 2021.

Police launched an investigation after visiting the family's home on May 5, 2021, and finding it deserted. Officers later discovered that her parents had travelled to Pakistan without her.

Investigators also recovered security camera footage recorded on April 29, 2021, showing five people leaving the house carrying shovels, a crowbar and a bucket before returning several hours later, evidence that became central to the investigation.

According to ANSA, Abbas' parents fled to Pakistan after the killing but were later extradited to Italy to stand trial.

Reacting to the verdict, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said justice had finally been served.

"No verdict can bring her life back, but it is right that those responsible for this barbaric crime have been definitively convicted," Meloni said in a social media post.

Tweet by Giorgia Meloni