Italy: Bangladeshi Girl Escapes Forced Marriage and Death Threats from Family

In the northeastern Italian city of Trieste, a young Bangladeshi woman has fled to police along with her younger sister, reporting that her family had threatened to take her back to Bangladesh and kill her if she did not agree to an arranged marriage, which she opposed. She and her sister have been placed in a protective facility as the police investigate the case. 

Italy is particularly sensitive to this issue after the 2021 murder of Saman Abbas, an 18-year-old Pakistani woman, by her family in Italy after she refused an arranged marriage to an older man in Pakistan. Both of her parents and an uncle are serving long prison sentences for her murder.

The article below in Il Giornale is translated by Fousesquawk.

“Marry or we will kill you”. Bangladeshi girl threatened by parents saved

In Trieste, a young girl originally from Bangladesh reports the threats from her family and escapes from home with her younger sister. The police take them to a protective facility. Matteoni: “The freedom to choose one’s own life is a non-negotiable principle.”

-By Giulia Bernardini

September 3, 2026 at 18:43

A phone call, the fear of being taken back to Bangladesh, and then the flight, together with her younger sister. It is the story of a young girl of Bangladeshi origin in Trieste who has asked for help from the police after having reported being threatened by her own family for being opposed to an arranged marriage. The girl reportedly received a terrible ultimatum from her parents: Accept the marriage decided for her or be taken back to Bangladesh and killed. Frightened, she left the residence together with her younger sister and contacted law enforcement. The two were contacted by officers and accompanied to a protective facility. Now begins the investigation to verify in detail the reported threats and to reconstruct the details of the matter.

Nicole Matteoni, deputy (of Parliament) and provincial secretary of the Fratelli d’Italia (party) in Trieste. “The dramatic story of the young Bangladeshi girl in Trieste who fled an arranged marriage and the threat of death from the family with her younger sister is a serious matter. The girl has suffered intolerable pressures and the threat of being taken back to Bangladesh and killed”. For Matteoni, this raises a question that goes beyond this single case. “The liberty to choose one’s own life is a sovereign and non-negotiable principle of our civilization. Whoever lives in Italy has to respect the laws and the founding values. We will not tolerate abuse, segregation, or violence driven by fanaticism.”

The deputy, therefore, assures that Fratelli d’Italia will continue to fight “with firmness, to oppose oppression and defend those who choose freedom”.