In a message on International Women's Day, Italy's premier Giorgia Meloni made a special mention of 18-year-old immigrant Saman Abbas, who was murdered, allegedly by male relatives, after she refused an arranged marriage with a cousin in Pakistan.
"I want to remember young women like Saman Abbas, Pamela Mastropietro and Sara Di Pietrantonio and all female murder victims," wrote Meloni.
"It is for them (Abbas, Mastropietro and Pietrantonio) and for every female victim of persecution, discrimination and abuse that we must keep fighting every kind of violence, with all available tools," Meloni underlined.
Italy has asked Pakistan to extradite Abbas' father to stand trial for her murder in the northern town of Novarella in 2021. Abbas' uncle and two male cousins are currently being tried in Reggio Emila for her killing.
A 30-year-old Nigerian drug dealer was jailed for life for killing 18-year-old Mastropietro in 2018 while 22-year-old Mastropietro's Italian ex-boyfriend is serving a life sentence for her 2016 murder.
