June 16, 2010
BRAMPTON, Ont. — More than two years after her death, Aqsa Parvez received justice Wednesday, the Crown says — an ideal the 16-year-old fought for even as her father and brother conspired to strangle her inside the family home.
In a scathing ruling that decried their "twisted, chilling and repugnant mindset," Justice Bruce Durno sentenced Muhammad and Waqas Parvez to life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years.
"Aqsa finally got in death what she didn't get in life in terms of justice and dignity," Crown attorney Mara Basso said outside court, noting the stiff sentence "sends an incredibly important and necessary message to our community."
Muhammad and Waqas Parvez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Aqsa's 2007 slaying this week. As Durno issued the final word Wednesday, the pair sat expressionless in the prisoners' box as family members looked on; Aqsa's mother, Anwar Jan, occasionally dabbed her eyes.
The Crown has characterized Aqsa's murder as an honour killing, and while the defence has shied away from that label, Durno appeared to accept that notions of honour played a role in the tragedy.
"It is profoundly disturbing that a 16-year-old woman, no doubt facing significant challenges adjusting to living in a very different society than her parents', could be murdered by her father and brother for the purpose of saving the family pride," Durno said.
The youngest of eight children, Aqsa Parvez was 16 years old when her father and brother strangled her to death. An agreed statement of facts details a clash of cultures, pitting Aqsa against her father's oppressive, patriarchal rule.
Originally from Pakistan, Aqsa became increasingly enmeshed in western culture after the family relocated to Mississauga, Ont., in 2001, setting the stage for increased tensions at home.
Women in the Parvez family were expected to dress traditionally, to rely on men for financial stability, and to spend most of their free time confined to the household. Arranged to be married to a Pakistani man, Aqsa longed for the freedom to dress as she wished and spend evenings with her friends; she craved privacy, as her bedroom had no door.
In late November 2007, Aqsa decided she had had enough, and elected to leave home.
"She confided in her closest friends that her father had sworn to her on the Qur'an that if she ran away again, he would kill her," Crown attorney Sandra Caponecchia told the court this week.
Days before she died, Aqsa enjoyed a movie for the first time, and had started to take steps toward a part-time job. But on Dec. 10, 2007, her brother picked her up from the bus stop as she waited there with a friend.
Half an hour later, Aqsa's father called police to say he had killed Aqsa with his bare hands. He was charged in her murder the same day.
Almost more chilling than the crime itself was the family's willingness to defend it in statements to police.
The teenager's siblings agreed Aqsa deserved violent retribution for her disobedience; Aqsa's mother, Jan, suggested it was acceptable in Pakistan to kill children for such behaviour.
In breaks from the police interview, the visibly distraught mother was recorded lamenting aloud: "Oh God, oh Aqsa. You did not listen — you died. . . . Oh God . . . broken legs and arms . . . said will break legs and arms — has killed her straight away. What should I do?"
Waqas Parvez was initially charged with obstructing police after telling them he had not seen Aqsa since a week before the murder, although witnesses watched him pick her up at the bus stop that very day.
Charges against Waqas Parvez were later upped to first-degree murder after police intercepted a conversation between him and a colleague. In it, Aqsa's brother admitted choking the teenager until she died, and asserted "the guilt was killing him."
Joseph Ciraco, counsel for Muhammad Parvez, says the relationship between father and son has much healing to do in the days to come.
"They're going to have to try and come to terms with what happened. . . . They've ruined each other's lives," he said.
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