ABU DHABI // A Pakistani couple who told a judge they would be killed if they were deported will be sent back to their home country anyway, a judge ruled today.
SK was sentenced to two years in prison followed by deportation for killing his cousin after he walked in on him having sex with his wife, SZ.
SZ was also sentenced to two years in prison followed by deportation after she changed her confession from sex out of wedlock to consensual sex. Under sharia'a law, a Muslim married woman faces stoning if she confesses to having sex out of wedlock.
Throughout the hearings, SZ pleaded with the judge not to deport her because she feared her family would kill her to protect their honour.
SK had been pardoned by dead man's blood relatives in court. However, he told the judge, he was worried they had dropped their claim only so they could take revenge with their own hands. He also asked the judge to cancel deportation out of "humanitarian" reasons.
Both are currently serving their sentences.
hdajani@thenational.ae
