Hamed Shafia, who helped in 'honour killing' of sisters and stepmother, allowed to tour lower security prison - National Post

Hamed Shafia, centre, with his father Mohammad Shafia and mother Tooba Mohammad Yahya, outside a Kingston, Ont., courthouse on Oct. 20, 2011. The three were found guilty in the 2009 “honour killing” murders of his sisters, Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, and of Roma Amir, 50, who was Mohammad Shafia’s first wife. Photo by Lars Hagberg for Postmedia/FileArticle contentHamed Shafia, at the age 18, helped his father kill three of his sisters and his stepmother by drowning them in the Rideau Canal in a so-called “honour killing” because his “cultural upbringing outweighed any moral obligation,” but now, 17 years later, he says his views have softened.

Shafia’s account of his development since the four horrifying murders in 2009 and details of his prison life since his arrest in Kingston, Ont., are revealed in a written decision released Tuesday by the Parole Board of Canada on his request for a series of visits outside his prison.

Shafia, now 35, was given a life sentence for four counts of first-degree murder in January 2012.

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He asked the parole board to approve two escorted temporary absences for personal development. One was to visit a minimum-security prison, the other to attend a mosque to speak with an imam. The prison visit was approved at Friday’s hearing, but the mosque visit was denied.

The board members said at the hearing their reasons would be released in writing. Their decision reveals much about a deeply shocking crime and the family behind it.

On the morning of June 30, 2009, a Nissan Sentra was spotted submerged in the water of a lock on the Rideau Canal near Kingston, Ont. The bodies of four females were found inside, identified as Hamed Shafia’s three sisters — Zainab Shafia, 19, Sahar Shafia, 17, and 13-year-old Geeti Shafia — and his stepmother, Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, who was his father’s first wife.

Police investigators found the car was registered to Hamed Shafia’s father, Montreal businessman Mohammad Shafia.

Three hours later, Hamed Shafia went with his father and mother, Tooba Mohammad Yahya, to the Kingston police station to report the Nissan missing. The father told police three of his daughters and his “cousin” were also missing. He said the family, who had immigrated to Canada from Afghanistan, was returning from a trip to Niagara Falls, travelling in two cars.

The police investigation, however, disclosed that neither the missing Nissan nor the missing women were really a mystery to the father. Nor was the oldest victim his cousin, but one of Mohammad Shafia’s two wives.