(Newser)
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An Iraqi immigrant charged with slamming his car into his daughter in a shocking Arizona "honor killing" heads to court this month. Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 50, faces life in prison if convicted of killing his 20-year-old daughter, Noor, who refused an arranged marriage in Iraq and moved into her boyfriend's Phoenix home. She was in a coma for 2 weeks before she died, reports AP. Shortly before she was struck, she spotted her father stalking her and texted a friend: "Dude, my dad is here. I've honestly never met anyone with so much evil."
"The investigation revealed that the defendant was very angry with Noor for not living by traditional Iraqi values as she had, in his eyes, become too 'Westernized' and brought dishonor on her family," prosecutors wrote in a court document. The defense denies the charges. The case highlights increasing concerns about so-called "honor killings" on US soil. The UN estimates some 5,000 such murders occur annually around the world, including the US. In cases described by authorities as honor killings, an Egyptian man in Texas was charged 2 years ago with shooting his two teen daughters in the back, and a Buffalo man born in Pakistan was charged with beheading his wife after she filed for divorce.
