Four sentenced to death for Pakistan 'honour killing'

A Pakistani court has given the death sentence to four people for bludgeoning to death a pregnant relative who had married against their consent.

Farzana Parveen, 30, was beaten with bricks and sticks in May outside Lahore's high court. Police deny charges they stood by as it happened.

Ms Parveen's father, brother, cousin and former fiancé were all found guilty of murder on Wednesday. Another brother got 10 years in jail.

The case sparked global outrage.

Ms Parveen had been at the high court to defend her husband in a case brought against him by her relatives. They accused Muhammad Iqbal of abducting her. Ms Parveen had already testified to police that she had married of her own free will.

According the police, a scuffle took place between about 20 members of Ms Parveen's family and 10-15 of Mr Iqbal's, during which she was struck with a brick three times and fatally wounded. He managed to escape.

Police say that Ms Parveen was dead by the time officers were able to intervene.

Court officials say the defendants will have the right to appeal in Lahore's high court.

• In 2013, 869 women murdered in so-called "honour killings"
• Campaigners say real number is likely to be much higher
• Of these, 359 were so called "Karo Kari" cases, whereby family members consider themselves authorised to kill offending relatives to restore honour
• Rights groups say conviction rate in cases of sexual and other violence against women is "critically low"

There are hundreds of so-called "honour killings" in Pakistan each year.

This case prompted particular outrage, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif describing it as "totally unacceptable".

After she was killed, it emerged that Mr Iqbal had killed his first wife six years earlier in order to marry Ms Parveen.

Mr Iqbal's son by his first marriage, Aurangzeb, told the BBC in May that relatives had persuaded him to forgive his father, enabling his release from prison under Pakistani law.

Correspondents say arranged marriages are the norm in Pakistan, and to marry against the wishes of the family is unthinkable in many deeply conservative communities.

Source: BBC News (19/11/2014), and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Annual Report (2013)