Shafia sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, along with their father's first wife Rona Muhammad Omar, 52 (all of Afghan origin), were found dead inside a car that was discovered underwater in front of the northernmost Kingston Mills lock of the Rideau Canal,[1] after they were reported missing.
The trial, which took place at the Frontenac County Court House, was believed to be the first in Canada conducted in four languages – English, French, Dari and Spanish.
He soon decided to take advantage of an immigration program introduced by the government of Quebec in Canada which offered permanent residence and eventual citizenship to people who invested significant money in the province.
[10][11][12] According to a family member's interview, Rona was trapped in an abusive, loveless marriage, trying in vain to convince her husband to grant her a divorce.
[7] On June 30, 2009, a worker at the Kingston Mills locks discovered a black Nissan Sentra with a broken left taillight submerged in the water.
[16] Mohammad Shafia was at the Kingston Police station to report that four of his family members – three teenage daughters and a purported aunt – were missing.
"[16] However, authorities soon learned that Hamed had reported an accident with the family Lexus SUV in an empty parking lot earlier that same morning in Montreal.
Since the case involved Afghan Canadians, questions arose as to whether or not it was correct, or even appropriate, to call the murders honour killings or simply domestic violence.
A publication ban placed on the case prevented the media from naming the three surviving children in the care of Canadian social services.
CBC News covered the trials extensively from the first day; they went a step further by publishing its audience's comments to show how Canadians felt about the case and its details.
"[22] CTV News published a piece stating that the trial cast a shadow over Canada's Islamic community, further tarnishing an image that had not yet recovered from the events of 9/11.
One of the quotes was by Crown attorney Gerard Laarhuis after the verdicts, and it read as follows: "This jury found that four strong, vivacious and freedom-loving women were murdered by their own family in the most troubling of circumstances.
[citation needed] The Montreal Gazette published a column in which it said that labelling the murders as honour killing is a mistake as domestic violence against women is ubiquitous and framing it as a particular paradigm would mean distancing oneself from a crime that is all too common.
The authors argue that premeditation is put forth as a core component to differentiate honour killings from other types of murders, such as crimes of convenience or passion.
The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, along with other Canadian Muslim organizations, have publicly denounced domestic violence and honour killing as un-Islamic.
[29] Ali Falih Altaie, the family imam, said that the murders were unforgivable; he also cautioned against associating honour crimes with Islam, calling the actions incompatible with any religion.
[30][31] In 2012 imams from across Canada and the U.S. issued a moral ruling officially condemning honour killings, domestic violence, and misogyny as un-Islamic.
Thirty-four imams belonging to the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, including a handful of American members, signed the fatwa in an effort to counter misinterpretations of the Qur'an.