BRUSSELS: A Belgian court sentenced on Monday four members of a Pakistani family to prison for the “honour killing” of their law-student daughter and sister, the Belgian media reported.
After pronouncing the family members guilty for shooting to death Sadia Sheikh in October 2007, the jury sentenced father Tarik Mahmood Sheikh to 25 years behind bars, mother Zahida Parveen Sariya to 20 years, brother Mudusar to 15 and sister Sariya to five years.
Lawyers for the family said Sadia’s brother, Mudassir, who confessed to pulling the trigger on the three bullets that killed his sister, was handed a lesser jail term than his parents as they were considered to have ordered the girl’s death.
Prosecutors had asked for a life sentence for all three and between 20 and 30 years behind bars for Sariya.
Sadia, who defied the family by living with a Belgian and refusing an arranged marriage, was shot dead at the age of 20 on October 22, 2007.
Mudassir admitted before the jury of five women and seven men to killing his sister while saying the rest of the family were not to blame.
Her parents and sister stood accused of aiding and abetting the killing which took place when the student visited her family in the hopes of patching up their quarrel.
Questioned during Belgium’s first “honour killing” trial in south-western Mons, Mudassir said the killing was premeditated “for a long time”.
The trial also involved rights groups pleading for gender equality as part of a civil suit at the hearings.
The father, mother and sister, also facing charges of “attempting to arrange a marriage”, denied involvement in the murder, saying Mudassir killed his sister in a fit of rage.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 13th, 2011.
COMMENTS (36)
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@goggi: "vast minority"? This one is an oxymoron! "It is not long ago, when your holy Pandits and the rest of the society made similarly a short shrift with a widow and shoved her alive in her husband´s pyre……to save a bowl of rice a day?" It would have been a good idea if you had mentioned how long ago really was "long ago". Firstly, remember the institution of "sati" to which you are referring was not ordained by holy Pandits. It was in great majority of the cases a voluntary act. No one shoved any one intro a raging fire. But again, one cannot vouch for every case. It is also possible it was not so and it became obligatory because of societal pressures. "To save a bowl of rice a day"? It is highly laughable. Let us leave this without a response. The point is Hindu religion is highly flexible and adaptable, unlike Islam. That is why it has survived as long as it has. "Sati" is dead but how can you prevent someone from committing suicide even today because he/she could not bear to live without his/her beloved. Coming back to the question of executions, you have not responded to my poser:"You willing to stand on a high moral pedestal in return for just a minor portion of your earnings?". Well...., are you? Your Consciousness will determine your Being!
@G. Din: I am the last to contradict a opinion which is below the belt, you represent the moral values of the vast majority of your nation...............just as the honour killer represented the moral standards of a vast minority of his country.
It is not long ago, when your holy Pandits and the rest of the society made similarly a short shrift with a widow and shoved her alive in her husband´s pyre......to save a bowl of rice a day?
Our Consciousness determines our Being!
@goggi: "statistical studies and their scientific evaluation, provide no evidence for the deterrent effect of capital punishment." Deterrence is only one aspect. There may be others such as why should a society be asked to support and feed a criminal convicted of an extremely abhorrent crime for which he/she has been sentenced to be put to death? I would suggest that those who feel executing a human being is repugnant to their extremely well-developed moral sense should be asked to foot the bill. For instance, you could be asked to surrender a portion of your earnings, to assuage your moral outrage. The other solution could be to banish all such predators to one of those 139 countries. Any takers? You willing to stand on a high moral pedestal in return for just a minor portion of your earnings?
A similar trial is now going on in Kingston Ontario Canada. Father, mother and son for the "honour killing" of four family members. When people immigrate to another country, they take an oath to obey their new country laws, in this case, "if" guilty, they are liars as well as killers. Very sad on too many fronts to mention...
Belgian court is biased. The family was just trying to spread the message of, you know what.
@Sammy irsam: My dear fellow!! you think anybody in the family is sad except about their jail term? I can see that Sammy is a paki and have you started killing ur womenfolk yet? The cause is simple. Barbarism of Pakis thats unique. Prevention? simple. Exterminate the vermin. Show me a paki without that mentality.
When families are migrating to European countries they should be ready for such things.Naturally the children who are growing up over there would follow their life styles and moral values.I have seen families when they are moving to these countries they are on cloud nine as if they are going to conquer the world,what a sad and tragic end to a family.
I think it's sad a family like that had been broken up and a sister killed. Think rather than critiscing the family and there race we should evaluate the cause and prevent it in the future after all prevention is far better than cure. Racist comments and generalisation is not fair on the rest of the people that DON'T have that sort of mentalaty.
Europe must get used to return of barbarism because they made the Faustian pact of allowing Muslim immigration. If you want sanity send back all muslims to their country of origin
I am afraid that Belgium is not going to score well on the "valuing diversity" measure so beloved by liberals who don't understand that this sort of diversity without integration acts like a cancer destroying a society from within.
@Amjad: "@Cautious: Yes the same way they should deport the Indian man from the UK who killed his Swedish / Indian wife on their honeymoon in South Africa." Honour-killing is done, not by husbands but by relatives, a brother or a parent. The case you are referring to was not an honour killing. Having said that, we in India, especially in some northern states, also have this problem. We have not, however, heard of any member of Hindu diaspora accused of honour-killing. I agree with you any one accused of a heinous crime such as honour killing should be deported back to his country after he has served out his sentence.
Pathetic family!! they should have been hanged to death for murder!!!
and this law should be here ion pakistan too!! Islam has nothing like "honour killing"!
Jeez!
justice is served.Too bad thats its never served by us muslim majority countries.
I myself live in Europe and let me tell you that there are many uneducated Pakistanis here living since 80's when immigration policy was very lenient and many of them came here through illegal means, later got well settled and called on their families but one thing is always missing in them is no education which is just depicted by this murder as mentality remains the same despite of 20+ years experience of European culture.
The heinous crime of this family reflect the cultural intolerance and hypocrite moral of the majority of Pakistanis.
How many Pakistani brothers have already shot dead their apostate sister Veena Malik? The educated illiterates are filing cases against her, because she has apparently injured the honour of the nation!
The males of the community feel terribly inferior when one of their women choose to live or marry with a person from another community. To prevent this from happening they make the practise illegal by manipulating their religious or community law. Thus preparing the basis for honour killing.
The hypocrites however allow their males to marry an outsider. Because it makes the males victorious for having brought a trophy wife.
Whats so honourable about killing 2 women with a gun. Shame shame. Looks like the males of such societies are truly inferior to those of others.
Good work.I uphold Belgium justice.
@Amjad: That was not honour killing. Don't link to different issues together.
People like this family don't understand true honour - or Islam - no matter which country they live in. Shame on them.
Honour killing should be condemnd by all civil socities and impliment a law for such kind of act. However It should be clear to all muslim families (either living in muslim or non-muslim countries) to obey the teaching of Islam which allow a person to spend their lives freely under the jurisdiction of Islamic limits, which prohibit a person to live together out of wedlock, it is a serious crime as per Islamic law.
This is a good lesson for people who just leave pakistan for some bucks expecting we can still raise the children the same way and changes of environment will not effect their child only because he/she is there child.Poor family
It is good example for all those people who are eager to go to west on one hand and on the other hand start dictating their own culture. If they are not happy with the best culture of the west than why they are asking for western citizenship? The decision is good and I appreciate. Hell on all extremists.
@Muslim man. Honour killing is not an 'islamic law' or 'islamic culture'. This practice dates back to pre-Islamic times. One of the barbaric traditions of time which Islam sought to redress, but ironically, today it is seen as part of Islamic practice.
face charges of “attempting to arrange a marriage.”
by those standards, 90 percent of pakistani parents would be guilty!
@Cautious: Yes the same way they should deport the Indian man from the UK who killed his Swedish / Indian wife on their honeymoon in South Africa. All Indians who commit crimes in Western countries should also be deported back to India. Don't forget to have your expatriate Afghani lackeys deported back when they too commit crimes. Like the Afghani man in Kingston Canada who is now on trial with his son for killing his three daughters and wife over so called honour. When will you Indians stop trying to put down Pakistanis over the illegal actions of one citizen when there are more Indians in Western countries committing crimes?
Look guys,
If you want to live in a non muslim country then you need to adopt their values and their culture. It is so simple thing. And if you want to live in islamic culture then you should live in islamic country.
Honour killing has been a big problem in the uk too. This might be a first case of its kind in belgiam but not in the uk its not.
A culture obsessed with honor on the surface will always be more prone to dishonorable acts in reality.
Nice decision..it should implement in pak...
Following the 'muslim' law as the defendants identify themselves, it should be Eye for an Eye!
When they finally get out of jail they should deport them back to Pakistan.
In my point of view this is an right step, in Antwerp a senior Leader of Pakistan Faisal Muhammad who is also an status of "Observer of Islamic Countries" and Diplomatic mediator of Muslim world welcomed this decision, and said Belgian court washed the "Stigma" on Belgian face.
Good example for all extremist Pakistani families living in foreign countries.