Honor killing

last updated 8 January 2015

Brescia, Italy

The murder of a Muslim immigrant by her father this week has prompted Italy to rethink its citizenship laws. Mohammed Saleem, a Pakistani who has lived in Italy for 10 years, admitted to killing his daughter Hina, 21, after police found her body buried in the yard. Hina’s Italian boyfriend said he believed her parents were trying to make her return to Pakistan to marry a Pakistani. The crime came just weeks after the government proposed easing citizenship rules by cutting the required residency period from 10 years to five. Now that proposal is on hold. “It is not enough to require adhesion to the values of the Italian Constitution,” said Interior Minister Giuliano Amato. “Adhesion to fundamental rights is also necessary, such as the fact that women are to be respected.”