Five family members will stand trial for the alleged murder of a Pakistani teenager who refused an arranged marriage, an Italian judge has said.
Saman Abbas disappeared last year in Italy after refusing his parents’ requests to marry a cousin in Pakistan.
Italian authorities suspect the 18-year-old girl was killed and her body buried.
Saman had told her boyfriend in Italy that her family was talking about killing her, and her parents fled Milan to Pakistan just a day after she disappeared.
For two months, around 500 Italian police – aided by dogs and drones – searched agricultural fields near the town where the family lived in Novellara.
On Tuesday, a judge in Reggio Emilia ruled that Saman’s parents, two cousins and an uncle – who was extradited from France – should stand trial.
Saman’s parents will likely face trial in absentia after failing to respond to appeals from Italian authorities.
The uncle has denied any role in his niece’s disappearance, despite video evidence that he was seen walking with a shovel and pitchfork in the countryside near the family home.
Saman’s 16-year-old brother was the other family member who remained in Italy and was transferred to a sheltered centre.
The first trial hearing has been set for February 10, 2023.
euronews Gt