Woman stoned to death for 'honour' outside LHC
28 May, 2014
LAHORE: A 25-year-old woman was stoned to death by her family outside the Lahore High Court on Tuesday in a so-called 'honour' killing for marrying the man she loved, police said.
Farzana Iqbal was waiting for the high court to open when a group of around dozen men began attacking her with bricks, said Umer Cheema, a senior police officer. Her father, two brothers and former fiancé were among the attackers, he said. Farzana suffered severe head injuries and was pronounced dead in hospital, police said.
All the suspects except her father escaped. He admitted killing his daughter, Cheema said, and explained it was a matter of 'honour'. Farzana had been engaged to her cousin but married another man, Cheema said. Her family registered a kidnapping case against him but she had come to court to argue that she had married of her own free will, he said.
Farzana Iqbal was attacked had been due in court to defend her new husband against allegations, made by her family, that he had kidnapped her and forced her to marry him, another police officials Rana Akhtar told AFP.
Some 28 to 30 people attacked her, Akhtar told AFP.
"The brother first opened fire with a gun but missed. She tried to run away but fell down," the investigator said. "The relatives caught her and then beat her to death with bricks." Mohammad Mushtaq, another police official, confirmed the incident. Mushtaq said police had opened an initial investigation following a complaint by Farzana's husband Iqbal, who also has another wife.
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