Sakina Muhammad Jan, convicted over forced marriage of now murdered daughter Ruqia Haidari, loses appeal
A mother who forced her daughter to marry her eventual murderer has lost an appeal against her prison sentence.
Sakina Muhammad Jan, 48, challenged her three-year jail term in the Victorian Court of Appeal, claiming she should have been shown mercy and spared jail time.
But the appeal was thrown out on Friday after the court found the sentence was adequate given the seriousness of the crime.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Jan was the first person in Australia to be sentenced for causing a person to enter into a forced marriage since it became an offence in 2013.
She was in May 2024 found guilty of forcing her daughter Ruqia Haidari to marry Mohammad Ali Halimi in August 2019.
Halimi killed his young bride five months after their wedding and is serving a life sentence for her murder.
Jan’s barrister Patrick Tehan KC argued the sentence was manifestly excessive and the sentencing judge failed to consider Ms Haidari’s death was extra-curial punishment for his client.
But Justices Karin Emerton and Lesley Taylor ruled the judge was correct to sentence Jan to an immediate term of imprisonment.
“It must be the expectation generally that anyone who coerces another into marriage against their will lose their liberty as a result,” the judgment read.
“The actual sentence imposed was well within the sound exercise of the judge’s sentencing discretion.”
Justices Emerton and Taylor found forced marriage was a violation of human rights and Jan’s conduct was a serious example of the offence.
They agreed Jan was remorseful for her daughter’s death and she had no reason to think she would be murdered.
But they found forced marriages posed an inherent risk, so Ms Haidari’s death was “unforeseen but nonetheless far from fanciful”.
The justices refused Jan leave to appeal her prison sentence.
Justice Christopher Boyce found Jan’s sentence was manifestly excessive and her punishment was far beyond what was proportionate.
He indicated he would have re-sentenced her to a 12-month good behaviour bond but his decision was overruled by the majority of Justices Emerton and Taylor.
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