Muslim Woman, Aset Magomadova, Given Suspended Sentence in Murder of 14 Year Old Daughter, Sparks Outrage

Muslim mother, Aset Magomadova, given suspended sentence by Canadian judge in the murder of her 14 year old daughter, sparks outrage.

How could any judge hand down a suspended sentence to a mother for killing her child? Well, according to the Vancouver Sun, Alberta's Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sal LoVecchio did just that when he sentenced a Muslim woman, Aset Magomadova, for strangling her 14 year old daughter to death with a head scarf. Sorry, but this sets a terrible precedent and sends the wrong message to the world. In other words, the child's life was worth nothing.

In October, LoVecchio acquitted Magomadova, 40, of second-degree murder and found her guilty of manslaughter in the death of Aminat, 14. He placed her on probation for three years with several conditions, including taking counselling for grief, depression and anger management.

The judge rejected an argument by Crown prosecutors Mac Vomberg and Sarah Bhola for a 12-year prison term, instead accepting the position of defence lawyer Alain Hepner, saying a suspended sentence can still meet the demands of justice.

Magomadova was charged after the deadly incident at their home the morning of Feb. 26, 2007, after Aminat refused to go to court to be sentenced for assaulting a female teacher at her school. The devout Muslim mother claimed Aminat came at her with a knife in her sewing room, where she prayed several times a day. She said she reacted by wrapping the scarf around her daughter’s neck and twice told the girl to put the knife down before the teen lost consciousness. A knife was found in the room, but the daughter’s fingerprints were not on it. Source

It is somewhat unusual for a mother to kill her child, but it is even more unusual for one to walk free in such case, no matter which country the perpetrator lives in.