Saman Abbas, the body found in Novellara is his

The body found last November 18 in Novellara is precisely that of Saman Abbasthe Pakistani girl, disappeared on the night between April 30 and May 1 after opposing an arranged marriage. He was 18 years old. The remains, found after months of intense searches, were located 500 meters from the home of the girl’s family and had been buried about three meters deep.

«She was identified by a dental anomaly, thanks to photos and videos»explained the lawyer Barbara Iannuccelli, who follows the association Penelope, constituted a civil party in process which will start next February and which involves five family members of the victim: the parents Shabbar and Nazia Shaheen, the uncle Danish Hasnain, who led the investigators to the place of discovery, and the cousins ​​Ikram Ijaz and Nomanulhaq Nomanulhaq. They are accused of kidnapping, voluntary homicide and suppression of a corpse.

Both parents had left Italy a few days after April 30, 2021, the day the girl was allegedly killed. At the moment the father, arrested after a year and a half on the run, is in prison in Pakistan, in Islamabad awaiting the extradition hearing which continues to be postponed. The mother is still on the run: she allegedly fled from the family home in Pakistan shortly before the police raid. The other three accused are in prison in Italy.

The autopsy examination of the victim’s body would also have highlighted the presence of a fracture in the front of the neck. “The hyoid bone is fractured on the left side and histological tests are needed to establish whether pre- or post-mortem,” added the lawyer. An analysis that could support the hypothesis that Saman Abbas was strangled.

There have been many demonstrations to celebrate the young Pakistani and to remember the scourge of arranged marriages, which are also present in Italy. Last November, the Municipality of Novellara announced that it will confer honorary citizenship to Saman. “A symbolic gesture that above all wants to recognize the legitimate struggle of a young woman for her freedom,” explained the mayor Elena Carletti. “A gesture that must be inserted in this context for her and for all the other women who we do not know now and who perhaps are fighting battles similar to Saman’s who, through citizenship, can somehow feel recognized in this battle”.

More stories from Vanity Fair that may interest you:

-Saman, your father’s extradition hearing has been postponed for the fourth time

-Saman Abbas, exhumed the body found in Novellara

-Saman, the cousin in prison: “We swore on the Koran not to reveal the murder”