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Shafia Murder verdict....guilty! guilty! guilty! |
29 Jan 2012 19:10 #72848
by VillageBelle
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Enlarge this imageShafia family all found guilty of first-degree murder in 'honour killings'
timothy appleby
Kingston, Ont.— Globe and Mail UpdatePublished Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 1:11PM ESTLThe murder trial of three Afghan-Canadians accused of drowning four relatives in a so-called “honour killing†came to a cathartic end Sunday afternoon as the defendants were convicted on all charges. Before the trio were led away in handcuffs and shackles to begin automatic sentences of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 25 years, each proclaimed their innocence, and they were visibly upset.
Video
A long journey to the Shafia verdict
Background
Timeline: The Shafia murder trial
Mr. Justice Robert Maranger of Superior Court was unmoved.
Their crimes stemmed from “a sick notion of honour that has absolutely no place in any civilized society,†he told the packed courtroom.
“You have each been convicted of the planned and deliberate murder of four members of your family,†the trial judge said, citing a verdict that was “clearly supported by the evidence presented at this trial.
“It is difficult to conceive of a more despicable, more heinous crime. The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your completely twisted concept of honour, a notion of honour that is founded upon the domination and control of women.â€
Staring hard at the defendants, the judge said:
“There is nothing more honourless than the deliberate murder of, in the case of Mohammad Shafia, three of his daughters and his wife, in the case of Tooba Yahya, three of her daughters and a stepmother to all her children, in the case of Hamed Shafia, three of his sisters and a mother.â€
Half an hour later, a large crowd gathered under a cold sun to watch as businessman Mohammad Shafia, 59, his second wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 42, and their eldest son, Hamed, 21, were for the last time taken away in a police van. Boos rang out as they were led from the courthouse.
The verdict was reached shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon and delivered about an hour later.
In all, the seven-woman, five-man jury had deliberated just over 15 hours, spread over two days, sequestered on the second floor of the historic Frontenac County Court House in downtown Kingston.‬
After the proceedings ended, defence lawyer David Crowe said he was “disappointed†with the outcome and there would be an appeal.
Right to the end, the killers maintained they were not guilty.
“We are not criminals, we are not murderers, we didn't commit the murder and this is unjust,†Mr. Shafia said in Dari, his words relayed through a translator.
“Your honourable justice, this is not just,†his wife said through tears. “I am not a murderer, and I am a mother – a mother.â€
Their son spoke in English: “Sir, I did not drown my sisters anywhere,†he said.
Mr. Shafia, Ms. Yahya and Hamed Shafia were convicted of murdering sisters Zainab, Sahar and Geeti Shafia, aged 19, 17 and 13, whose bodies were found in a submerged car at a Rideau Canal lock, just east of Kingston, in June, 2009.‬
The fourth person in the vehicle was Mr. Shafia’s first wife, Rona Amir Mohammad, 53, who had entered Canada illegally, posing as his cousin, but who in fact was part of a polygamous marriage and who by every indication had desperately wanted to escape from it.
The trial attracted enormous attention, the chief reason being that in the history of Canada, and probably every other Western country, it was unique.‬
There have been other murder charges involving so-called “honour killings†– homicides of women slain out of a perverse desire to “purify†families of disgrace created by supposedly immoral conduct. But not on this scale, and not involving parents who were willing to wipe out half their family for the sake of their honour, and then lie about it.‬
Outside court, lead prosecutor Gerard Laarhuis said the guilty verdicts reflected Canadian values that he hoped would resonate.
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ve...rial/article2318731/
Their crimes stemmed from “a sick notion of honour that has absolutely no place in any civilized society,†he told the packed courtroom.
“You have each been convicted of the planned and deliberate murder of four members of your family,†the trial judge said, citing a verdict that was “clearly supported by the evidence presented at this trial.
“It is difficult to conceive of a more despicable, more heinous crime. The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your completely twisted concept of honour, a notion of honour that is founded upon the domination and control of women.â€
Staring hard at the defendants, the judge said:
“There is nothing more honourless than the deliberate murder of, in the case of Mohammad Shafia, three of his daughters and his wife, in the case of Tooba Yahya, three of her daughters and a stepmother to all her children, in the case of Hamed Shafia, three of his sisters and a mother.â€
Half an hour later, a large crowd gathered under a cold sun to watch as businessman Mohammad Shafia, 59, his second wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 42, and their eldest son, Hamed, 21, were for the last time taken away in a police van. Boos rang out as they were led from the courthouse.
The verdict was reached shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon and delivered about an hour later.
In all, the seven-woman, five-man jury had deliberated just over 15 hours, spread over two days, sequestered on the second floor of the historic Frontenac County Court House in downtown Kingston.‬
After the proceedings ended, defence lawyer David Crowe said he was “disappointed†with the outcome and there would be an appeal.
Right to the end, the killers maintained they were not guilty.
“We are not criminals, we are not murderers, we didn't commit the murder and this is unjust,†Mr. Shafia said in Dari, his words relayed through a translator.
“Your honourable justice, this is not just,†his wife said through tears. “I am not a murderer, and I am a mother – a mother.â€
Their son spoke in English: “Sir, I did not drown my sisters anywhere,†he said.
Mr. Shafia, Ms. Yahya and Hamed Shafia were convicted of murdering sisters Zainab, Sahar and Geeti Shafia, aged 19, 17 and 13, whose bodies were found in a submerged car at a Rideau Canal lock, just east of Kingston, in June, 2009.‬
The fourth person in the vehicle was Mr. Shafia’s first wife, Rona Amir Mohammad, 53, who had entered Canada illegally, posing as his cousin, but who in fact was part of a polygamous marriage and who by every indication had desperately wanted to escape from it.
The trial attracted enormous attention, the chief reason being that in the history of Canada, and probably every other Western country, it was unique.‬
There have been other murder charges involving so-called “honour killings†– homicides of women slain out of a perverse desire to “purify†families of disgrace created by supposedly immoral conduct. But not on this scale, and not involving parents who were willing to wipe out half their family for the sake of their honour, and then lie about it.‬
Outside court, lead prosecutor Gerard Laarhuis said the guilty verdicts reflected Canadian values that he hoped would resonate.
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ve...rial/article2318731/
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