Prof. Shahrzad Mojab (inset), who testified at the Shafia murder trial as an expert on honour killing, says some media reports mis-represented some of her evidence. Mojab, who has been studying patriarchy and violence in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures for more than 15 years, appeared at the sensational Kingston trial in early December. She was called as a witness by prosecutors, who wanted to ensure that the 12 jurors understood the ancient concept of honour killing, a practice in which typically a woman or female child is murdered because family members believe it is the only way to cleanse shame. Mojab is critical of the reporting of a portion of her evidence and she fears that it can lead to faulty conclusions about racism among some cultures. Her entire column appears at The Mark.
When it was over, hours of questioning spread over three days about the deaths of his sisters and the allegation that his parents are killers, the boy-witness just wanted a hug. The 18 year old, who had been on the witness stand at the Shafia murder trial since Monday, looked up toward the judge and made a plaintive request. “Could I have the permission to hug my parents goodbye?” the boy asked, in a soft voice.
The teenage boy whose parents and brother are charged with murder acknowledged that he lied to Montreal police and teachers about abuse in his family, but insisted that he told investigators the truth about the deaths of four family members including sister Zainab (inset). Crown prosecutor Gerard Laarhuis grilled the boy, who is now 18, for five hours Tuesday after he was called Monday as a defence witness. A court order bars publication of his name.
The Shafia home was “joyful,” nearly devoid of violence and was governed by a liberal father who “wanted only the best” for his seven children, according to the brother of three teenaged Montreal girls (Sahar inset) found dead in a sunken car. In roughly two hours of calmly delivered testimony Monday, the boy, who is now 18, offered explanations and contradictions for many seemingly incriminating bits of evidence revealed at the murder trial of his parents and brother over the past seven and a half weeks.
The Montreal man accused of killing three of his teenage daughters and his first wife believed two of his children had been “cruel” to him by dressing in revealing clothes and consorting secretly with boyfriends, he told jurors at his murder trial Thursday. “My children did a lot of cruelty toward me,” Mohammad Shafia (inset) testified during questioning by his lawyer, Peter Kemp.
Sahar Shafia (inset) told her boyfriend’s aunt that she believed her parents would kill her if they found out about her relationship with the young man from Honduras but she planned to tell them about it because she would love him “until death,” the murder trial of her parents and brother has heard. “She told me that her parents did not know about the relationship with Ricardo and the day that her parents knew about the relationship with Ricardo she would be a dead woman,” Erma Medina testified Wednesday. She said Sahar repeated the claim several times and appeared serious.
Rona Amir Mohammad did not flee abuse by her husband Mohammad Shafia and his second wife because she feared her husband would kill her, jurors at Shafia’s murder trial were told. “She said if she leaves, her husband will kill her,” Fahima Vorgetts (inset) testified Tuesday. “She took it seriously because her husband told her he will kill her if she leaves.” Vorgetts, a U.S.-based volunteer with Women for Afghan Women, a human rights organization, said she began taking phone calls from the Montreal woman in the spring of 2008, after a referral through Vorgetts’ aunt.
Rona Amir Mohammad (inset) overheard Mohammad Shafia plotting to kill her and his 19-year-old daughter Zainab, according to a sister of Rona who testified Monday at the murder trial of the Montreal man, his wife and son. Diba Masoomi travelled thousands of kilometres to appear at the trial and could not be identified on the first day she testified because of a court order that protected her identity until she completed her testimony. Masoomi completed her testimony on Tuesday.
