ROME — Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation on Wednesday upheld life sentences for four relatives of Saman Abbas, making the convictions definitive in a case that has gripped the country for years. The court confirmed the life terms for her parents, Shabbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen, and cousins Ijaz Ikram and Noman Ul Haq, while also upholding a 22-year sentence for her uncle Danish Hasnain. The five had appealed convictions handed down in April 2025 by the Bologna appeals court.
Prosecutors say Abbas was killed for refusing an arranged marriage in Novellara, northern Italy, in the night between April 30 and May 1, 2021. Her body was recovered in late November 2022 after her uncle revealed the burial site.
Both parents fled to Pakistan after the killing but were later arrested and extradited back to Italy, the father in September 2023 and the mother in August 2024.