Italy: Saman Abbas' Cousin Extradited-Refuses to Answer Questions

Last year, Italy was shocked by the apparent “honor killing” of Saman Abbas, an 18-year-old Pakistani girl who disappeared after refusing to be married to a cousin in Pakistan. Suspects in the case include two cousins, an uncle, and even her two parents. Following the extradition from Spain this week of one of the cousins, Italy now has three of the above in custody. Saman’s parents are still free in Pakistan. 

The below article from Il Giornale reports that Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq, the cousin extradited from Spain, has refused to answer questions during his initial interrogation. Translation of the article by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/cronache/estraneo-ai-fatti-cugino-saman-non-risponde-pm-2020897.html

Saman’s cousin doesn’t answer the magistrates

25 March 2022-16:35

Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq, the cousin of Saman Abbas, did not respond to the questions of the prosecutor. “My client maintains he is unrelated to the facts,” the lawyer says.

Rosa Scognamiglio

Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq, the cousin of Saman Abbas, under investigation for murder and concealing the body of the young girl who disappeared on April 30, 2021, from Novellara, Reggio Emiliano, invoked the right of not answering. “My client claims he is unrelated to the facts,” stated the attorney for the 35-year-old Pakistani, Luigi Scarcella, at the conclusion of the interrogation.

The interrogation

The interrogation began at 12 this morning. Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq preferred not to answer the questions of prosecutor  Laura Galli and investigating judge Luca Ramponi, chief of the investigation into the homicide of the 18-year-old Pakistani girl.  The 35-year-old, in video hookup from the jail at Reggio Emilia where he has been held since last Tuesday, invoked the right of not answering, using, in fact, the same defensive strategy of Ikram Ijaz (the other cousin of Saman) and of the uncle, Danish Hasnain, considered by investigators to be the “material perpetrator of the crime”. There are still fugitives in Pakistan, however, the parents of the girl, Shabbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen, for whom there is an international arrest warrant outstanding. According to the investigators, they are alleged to have planned the homicide of their first child because she was reportedly opposed to the forced marriage to a cousin in her homeland.

“Unrelated to the facts”

“My client contested all the charges against him and maintained he was unrelated to the facts,” attorney Luigi Scarcella, lawyer for Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq, noted at the conclusion of today’s hearing. The 35-year-old, a fugitive for more than 9 months, was captured in Barcelona on February 14 following intense activity by the Investigative Unit of the Carabinieri of Reggio Emilia, assisted by the Police International Cooperation Service  (SCIP) of the Department of Public Security. The extradition was concluded Tuesday morning when the Pakistani landed at the “Marconi” airport of Bologna. Escorted by Carabinieri of the Provincial Command of Reggio Emilia, he was then taken to the Reggio jail awaiting interrogation.

The video

In support of the alleged involvement of Saman’s relatives in the criminal plan, there is reportedly a video that records a group of three persons heading for the fields near the residence of Saman in Novellara. The recording is time-stamped 29 April 2021. The three individuals are carrying two shovels and a bucket, as well as a blue bag and a crowbar. In other video segments, the same persons are seen returning after about 2 and a half hours. The subsequent investigative developments have confirmed they were Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq, Ikram Ijaz, and Danish Hasnain.