MONTREAL - Members of the Muslim community and neighbours in St. Leonard expressed relief and anger after jurors reached a verdict in the Shafia trial.
Mohammad Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, were each found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Shafia's three teenaged daughters and his first wife.
Sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, as well as Shafia's other wife Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, were found dead on June 30, 2009 in a car at the bottom of a canal in Kingston.
The verdict carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
"It's good, because they killed innocent people," said St. Leonard resident Sonia Garcia, who lived near the Shafias.
Many members of Montreal's Muslim community said this kind of crime, deemed an "honour killing," must not be tolerated.
""The whole thing is just so tragic," said Fehmida Khan of women's group Muslim Women of Quebec.
Khan said she did not think people should consider the four deaths as an "honour killing." Instead, she said the murders were domestic violence against women and children.
"The words [the judge] used might be harsh but they are realistic words, words that are needed to address the issue of domestic violence and child abuse which this particular case falls under," said Khan.
Saima Ishaq, a Concordia University Master's student who studies honour killings in Canada said this verdict might act as a deterrent to those who condone the act.
"It sends a clear message that there is justice in Canada, and that we do not accept these kind of crimes. They will not be tolerable at all, and that Canada is the protector of women," she said. "It's there to give justice."
With a file from CTVNews.ca
