LAHORE: The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday awarded the death penalty to the accused family members in the murder case of Farzana Iqbal.
25 year-old Farzana Iqbal was stoned to death by her family members outside the LHC earlier this year for marrying the man that she loved.
Judge Haroon Latif announced the death penalty for Farzana's father — who admitted to killing her over 'honour' — as well as one brother, a cousin and her former husband.
The second brother Ghulam Ali, who was also a suspect, has been sentenced to ten years in prison and a fine of Rs100,000.
The judge gave a ruling for the death penalty for Farzana's father Muhammad Azeem, ex-husband Mazhar Abbas, brother Zahid Iqbal and cousin Jahan Khan, under three different laws. Once under the Anti-Terrorism Act section seven, second under section 302 of the criminal code which outlaws murder and third under section 338C which outlaws murder of a pregnant woman. However, the family will appeal for another trial, defence lawyer Mansoorur Rehman Khan Afridi told Reuters.
Other family members have protested the hearing outside the court, claiming that these men have been wrongly framed in a false murder case.
Previously, the ATC was temporarily restrained from concluding the trial in this murder case as its jurisdiction was challenged by Afridi.
Read More: Farzana case: ATC restrained from concluding trial
Advocate Afridi said it was a case of a court of ordinary jurisdiction of law instead of a special court of law. He said a murder derived from family enmity could not be treated as a terrorism act. However, the five family members were already indicted as suspects by the ATC.
Pakistan currently has a moratorium on executions, meaning death row prisoners are effectively sentenced to life imprisonment. He said the verdict was “a decision based on sensationalism.” The state prosecutor was not immediately available for comment, said a report by Reuters.
Farzana's case attracted attention because it took place on a busy street outside the provincial High Court where she had gone to seek protection. Her family beat her to death with bricks while her husband, Muhammed Iqbal, begged nearby police for help.
Iqbal later admitted that he had murdered his first wife to marry Farzana. He escaped punishment because his son forgave him. According to Pakistani law, a woman's next of kin can forgive her murderers.
According to a report by Reuters, since women are often killed by their close relations, the loophole allows thousands of murderers to escape without punishment.
In 2013, 869 cases of “honour killings” were reported in the media, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
