A trial is expected to hear evidence that a brother killed his sister and her fiance in an “honour killing” rooted in anger over their engagement, a Crown attorney said Thursday.
Assistant Crown attorney Mark Moors told an Ottawa court that Hasibullah Sadiqi shot his sister, Khatera Sadiqi, and her fiance, Feroz Mangal, with a .44 Magnum revolver while they sat in a parked car just before 1 a.m. Sept. 19, 2006.
Hasibullah Sadiqi, a Canadian of Afghan descent who now faces two charges of first-degree murder, was upset because the engagement occurred without the permission of their father and Khatera Sadiqi had moved in with Mangal’s family, Moors said during opening statements to the five-woman, seven-man jury.
Sadiqi “believed that his sister had brought dishonour on the Sadiqi name,” Moors said, later adding that a witness is expected to testify that the accused said after the killing that he believed his sister would be a martyr and go to paradise.
Although the defence will not dispute the fact that Sadiqi was responsible for the killings, Natasha Calvinho, one of Sadiqi’s lawyers, told the jury the case centres on the classification of the homicides.
“It’s not a whodunit, so much as a ‘why did he do it?’ ” she said.
By the end of the trial, the defence is expected to advance the argument of provocation, which could reduce a murder charge to manslaughter, Calvinho said.
The Crown, meanwhile, intends to prove that Sadiqi’s actions were planned and deliberate.
Khatera Sadiqi, 20, was shot in the head and torso, while Mangal was shot in the neck and chest, Moors said.
Khatera Sadiqi was pronounced dead at the scene, while Mangal was taken off life support 10 days later.
“Big brothers normally watch out for their younger sisters” and provide protection and advice, said Moors.
Hasibullah Sadiqi, he said, “did none of these things.”
Moors said evidence will show that Khatera Sadiqi had driven her brother and Mangal back to the parking lot after a night out for dinner and a movie with friends.
The trial is expected to hear that was the first time she and her brother had made plans to see each other since she and Mangal got engaged eight months earlier, Moors said.
Moors said he expects evidence will be heard that indicates Hasibullah Sadiqi had intended to give his sister and her fiance a chance to acknowledge that what they had done was wrong.
Sadiqi will testify during the trial, according to his lawyer.
The trial is also expected to hear evidence from Ottawa police officers, a cultural expert and the Sadiqis’ friends and family members.