Sana Cheema murder case: Court acquits all accused due to lack of evidence
Last updated on: 15 February,2019 01:22 pm
On April 2018, Sana Cheema was allegedly strangled to death in Gujrat by her relatives.
GUJRAT (Dunya News) – Court on Friday has acquitted all 11 accused including victim’s father and brother due to lack of evidence in Pakistan-born Italian girl Sana Cheema murder case. On April 2018, Sana Cheema was allegedly strangled to death in Gujrat by her relatives after she expressed wish to marry abroad. According to family members, Cheema died after succumbing to an unspecified illness, however, the post-mortem report rejected the claims of accidental death of the girl. Police said Cheema’s father Ghulam Mustafa brought her back to Pakistan to get married. This ultimately led to a confrontation with a nearby family who spurned the offer of a match, according to the woman’s family. Because of the rejection Cheema refused to eat, fell ill and died, relatives told police. Afterwards, Sana’s body was exhumed on court’s order for postmortem. Hundreds of women in Pakistan are killed by their relatives each year after allegedly bringing shame on their families in the deeply conservative Muslim country. Under previous legislation the culprits -- usually men -- could escape punishment if pardoned by members of their own family. A new law removes the power to forgive culprits in such cases but critics contend some loopholes still exist.