PAKISTAN: A groom killed his bride together with his brothers on the pretext of honor killings 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned by yet another honor killing case from Shikarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan. According to the information received, an 18-year-old bride, Ms Arbeli (18), was killed by her groom Yousif and six other persons just two hours after the marriage formalities on 21 March 2005. It is reported that Yousif killed his wife suspecting that she was not a virgin and that she had had illicit relations with one of her relatives, Abdul Sattar Mirbahar (25). Since the incident, Abdul Sattar has gone into hiding, fearing for his life. None of the perpetrators have been arrested yet.

Your urgent action is required in this matter. Please send a letter to the local authorities and request them to arrest the alleged perpetrators as soon as possible and prevent a tribal court jirga being held in this case. Please especially urge the Sindh State government to take genuine action to prevent honor killings in the future.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
——————————————————————–

DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Ms Arbeli (18), daughter of Mr. Mohammad, of Mirbahar tribe
Alleged perpetrators: 1) Yousif, the victim’s husband, 2) Ghulam Nabi, 3) Mehar, 4) Shabiro (All the four are sons of Khuda Bux, of Mirbahar tribe), 5) Moula Bux, 6) Two unknown persons
All the perpetrators are residents of Pathan Wah Village, Khanpur Subdivision, Shikarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan
Complainant: Mr. Mohammad, the victim’s father, resident of Sher Ali Jatoi Village, Khanpur Subdivision, Shikarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan
Witnesses: 1) Gul Hassan, the victim’s brother, 2) Allah Dino, son of Khuda Bux, relative of the complainant
Date of the incident:  21 March 2005 at around 2:30am
Place of the incident: Pathan Wah village
Case reported on: 21 March 2005 at 1:00pm at Khanpur Police Station

On 21 March 2005, Ms Arbeli, a newly wedded bride, was killed by her groom Yousif along with six other persons including four of his brothers, just two hours after the marriage formalities. It is alleged that the husband accused his wife of having illicit sexual relations with one of her relatives, Abdul Sattar Mirbahar (25). Ms. Arbeli’s father, Mr. Mohammad, claimed that his daughter was innocent. He also said that he had objected to giving his daughter in marriage to the notorious Yousif, but he had to allow it due to heavy pressure from the elders of his tribe who were brought by Yousif.

On 20 March 2005, after the marriage ceremony, Ms Arbeli went to her new home along with the groom’s family and some of her family members. In the group, her father, brother and one relative were included (It is a custom in the area that some of the bride’s family members like the father, brother, sister or mother live with the bride for some time until she gets accustomed to her new environment). They then went to sleep in the guesthouse near the new house.

At around 2:30am on 21 March 2005, Mr. Mohammad heard noises outside. When he went outside with his son and relative, they saw the dead body of Ms Arbeli, which was packed in a sack, in front of their house. She had bullet marks on her left cheek, left breast, the left side of her waist and left hand. They also saw the groom Yousif and six other persons, including Yousif’s four brothers, who were armed. According to the victim’s father, Yousif pointed a gun towards them and shouted to Mr. Mohammad that he gave an immoral girl to him and she was not a virgin, therefore he killed her. After that, he and the others fled. The victim’s father could not find a vehicle due to the time of night, so he went to the Khanpur Police Station the following afternoon and registered a First Investigation Report (FIR No. 7/2005 under Section 302, 148, 149 of Pakistan Penal Code) against the seven alleged perpetrators.

Since the incident, Abdul Sattar Mirbahar (25), who was accused by the perpetrators of having an illicit relationship with the victim, has gone into hiding, fearing for his life. His family insists that Abdul Sattar is innocent. The family said that they live beside the victim’s house and Abdul regarded Ms. Arbeli as his little sister. It is reported that Abdul Sattar’s family is constantly contacting elders of their tribe (tribal council) in order to reconcile the matter (to avoid Abdul Sattar’s killing), since it is imperative for a person, who killed his female relative or wife, to kill the man whom she allegedly developed illicit sexual relations with.

In the meantime, the Khanpur police sent the case to the civil judge and judicial magistrate, Khanpur Subdivision. They carried out raids to arrest the alleged perpetrators but have not succeeded yet.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to following persons urging that the perpetrators are arrested quickly.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER