Several news sources say that a mother was found guilty of forcing her daughter to marry a man who then killed the 20-year-old bride weeks after the wedding.
ABC News Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald, and 9News all reported on May 23 that a Victoria County jury in Australia found Sakina Muhammad Jan guilty of forcing someone to get married. A hearing that lasted two weeks.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Jan paid Mohammad Ali Halimi a $10,000 gift and forced her daughter Ruqia Haidari to marry him in November 2019, even though her daughter did not want to marry him. Jan is said to have met with a matchmaker who set up Haidari and Halimi’s first meeting in June 2019.
According to the news source, Haidai told her teacher, counselor, two driving instructors, and the cops that she was worried about getting married to Halimi. Based on what the jury heard during the trial, Haidari’s mother insisted that she had the power to make choices for her daughter when she told her that she did not want to get married.
Authorities said the couple was legally married in November 2019 after two Islamic weddings to make the relationship official. They soon after moved to a home in Perth, Australia, as reported by ABC News Australia.
According to 9News, the police said Halimi killed Haidari in their home in January 2020. The murder wasn’t brought up by the defense during Jan’s hearing, but the news source said Halimi is already serving a life sentence with a minimum of 19 years.
ABC News Australia said that Jan is still out on bail while she waits for a pre-sentencing hearing in July.