Current:Home > News4 arrested in "honor killing" of 18-year-old Pakistani woman after doctored photo with her boyfriend goes viral -WealthRoots Academy
4 arrested in "honor killing" of 18-year-old Pakistani woman after doctored photo with her boyfriend goes viral
View
Date:2025-04-19 12:50:20
Pakistani authorities have arrested four people who allegedly killed an 18-year-old woman in the purported name of "honor" after a picture of her sitting with a boyfriend went viral on social media, police said Thursday. Police said the photo had been doctored and posted on fake social media accounts, the BBC reported.
The woman's father and three other men were detained days after the slaying in Kohistan, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Police said they were told about the killing on Nov. 24 and officers were still investigating.
According to the local police chief, Masood Khan, the four arrested men apparently killed the woman on orders from village elders, who thought she had brought shame to her family by posing for pictures with a boy.
Khan said the investigation determined that the photo of the couple that went viral had been edited by someone before it was shared on social media. He said investigators are trying to trace whoever edited and posted the image since it led to her killing.
It was not immediately clear if the photo manipulation falsely made it look like the 18-year-old had sat with her boyfriend.
Khan said the young man in the photo was detained for questioning. He said police also planned to arrest the members of the council of elders that ordered the woman killed.
Two other people — a young woman and a young man — also received death threats after their doctored pictures went viral on Pakistani social media, the BBC reported, citing police. Authorities took that woman into protective custody but released her back to her family after a court hearing, the BBC reported.
"Honor killings" in Pakistan
So-called "honor killings" are a significant issue in Pakistan, a conservative Muslim country where close relatives take the lives of hundreds of women each year because of actions perceived as violating conservative norms on love and marriage. There 384 "honor killings" reported in 2022 alone, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
Many such killings have been documented by domestic and international human rights groups.
Amnesty International issued a statement Thursday expressing its concerns over the death of the 18-year-old in the Kohistan district. The human rights group asked Pakistan's government to stop tribal councils from thinking they can order honor killings and escape legal consequences.
"The continued failure of the government of Pakistan to curb the extra-legal power of jirgas, or tribal councils, to run parallel legal systems perpetuating patriarchal violence with impunity is extremely concerning," Nadia Rahman, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for research in South Asia, said.
Rahman said authorities must do more than arrest the suspects accused of carrying out such slayings.
"The authorities must end impunity for violence and abolish so-called village and tribal councils that prescribe horrific crimes such as so-called 'honor killings,'" she said.
The BBC reported that in 2016, Pakistan's government amended legislation so that killers would get a mandatory life sentence. Previously, they could avoid a jail term if pardoned by the victim's family.
Still, human rights groups say that those who carry out "honor killings" are still evading justice. Last year, the BBC reported the brother of a social media star was acquitted of murdering her. He had been sentenced to life in prison after confessing to the 2016 killing, saying it was because the star had brought shame on the family.
Last year, a Pakistani man was arrested after being accused of killing his 18-year-old daughter in Italy after she reportedly refused an arranged marriage.
In 2020, Pakistani authorities arrested two men for allegedly murdering two female family members after a video which showed them being kissed by a man was posted online.
- In:
- Pakistan
veryGood! (831)
Related
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- AP PHOTOS: Rosalynn Carter’s farewell tracing her 96 years from Plains to the world and back
- What to know about the widening cantaloupe recall over deadly salmonella risks
- Blue over ‘G0BLUE': University of Michigan grad sues after losing license plate
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Tougher penalties for rioting, power station attacks among new North Carolina laws starting Friday
- Philippine troops kill 11 Islamic militants in one of bloodiest anti-insurgency offensives this year
- Ronaldo hit with $1 billion class-action lawsuit for endorsing Binance NFTs
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- 2 Nevada State Troopers killed in hit-and-run while helping motorist on Las Vegas freeway, authorities say
Ranking
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Dead longhorn found on Oklahoma State fraternity lawn the day before championship game with Texas
- Amanda Knox Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 2 With Husband Christopher Robinson
- Why NFL Analyst Tony Gonzalez Is Thanking Taylor Swift
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Woman found dead by rock climbers in Nevada in 1997 is identified: First lead in over 20 years on this cold case
- Associated Press correspondent Roland Prinz, who spent decades covering Europe, dies at age 85
- Breaking down the 7 biggest games of college football's final weekend
Recommendation
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
Dak Prescott throws for 3 TDs, Cowboys extend home win streak to 14 with 41-35 win over Seahawks
Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill says he'll cover the salary of videographer suspended by NFL
Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth battle in 'Mad Max' prequel 'Furiosa' trailer: Watch
Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
Takeaways from AP’s Interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
West Virginia places anti-abortion pregnancy center coalition at the helm of $1M grant program
Dow jumps 520 points as investors cheer inflation slowdown