Iraqi Family in Arizona Given Probation for Honor Violence

Iraqi family members in Phoenex, Arizona, who admitted to kidnapping, beating and trying to kill one of their daughters, has been given the unbelievable light sentence of probation by a U.S. court.

The family became angry with 19-year-old Aiya Altameemi after she refused to enter an arranged marriage with a 38-year-old man and was seen talking to a boy in high school.

Mohammed Altameemi, 46, admitted to trying to kill his daughter (the wound which he inflicted on her throat left a one and a half inch scar) and is accused of beating her. In exchange for a guilty plea, Mohammed was charged with “disorderly conduct” and given a sentence of probation for two years.

Yursah Farhan, 51, the girl’s mother, along with her 18-year-old sister, Tabarak Altameemi, tied Aiya to a bed with a rope, secured it with a padlock, taped her mouth shut and beat her with their fists and a shoe. Mohammed then tried to kill her with a knife until Tabark intervened. According to AZFamily.com, she was tied to the bed overnight.

In exchange for pleading guilty to “unlawful imprisonment,” Yursah was given probation for a year. Tabarak received the same sentence for the crime of assault. Tabarak was also accused of breaking a glass over her sister's head.

Aiya, who suffers from epilepsy, also reported that she was burned with a hot spoon on her face and chest while her sisters held her down.

According to court documents, Aiya told school officials what happened, claiming that her family was trying to protect her so that she would be a virgin for the arranged marriage.

The incident began after Aiya was spotted by family members talking to a young man outside her high school. Aiya’s father and sister confronted her and dragged her home, where Mohammed struck her several times. The girl's mother and sister joined in after tying her to the bed.

Aiya was beaten so violently that she needed hospital care. Her mother was arrested in the emergency room after a struggle with police who had been alerted to the case.   

Court documents show that Aiya’s father denied beating her. He told the judge, “I swear I didn't hurt her, only slightly, just like any parent would do to their children. Nobody would hurt their own children. You can ask her if she can be here with me.”

Yursah previously said that the police had made a big deal out of nothing, and that cultural differences account for the incident. Surprisingly, Aiya agrees. Watch this astonishing video:

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Aiya’s mother and father, both Iraqi citizens, have also been banned from contact with their daughter.