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| Noman Ul Haq and Ijaz Ikram: Where Are Saman Abbas’ Cousins Now? |
Saman Abbas’ cousins Noman Ul Haq and Ijaz Ikram remain imprisoned in Italy, after their acquittals in the first trial were overturned on appeal and their life sentences were later confirmed by Italy’s Supreme Court. Their legal journey has been anything but straightforward, with the two men going from being cleared of murder to receiving the harshest sentence available in the case.
Saman, 18, disappeared from the family’s home in the rural area of Novellara in May 2021. Her family initially became the focus of investigators, particularly after several relatives suddenly left the area. Noman and Ijaz were among those who had disappeared, while Saman’s parents also travelled back to Pakistan shortly after she was last seen.
Noman and Ijaz had moved to Italy years earlier with relatives, working as seasonal farm labourers. They lived alongside Saman and other members of the extended family in accommodation provided by the farm owner. Their lives became closely connected to the family, which later placed both cousins directly inside one of the most serious criminal investigations in the country.
The case centred on Saman’s conflict with her parents. She had previously left home and spent time in Belgium before returning to Italy in April 2021. She wanted to obtain her documents from her family, but tensions reportedly intensified after relatives learned about her relationship with a boyfriend and her refusal to accept the future they had planned for her.
According to the case presented at trial, an alleged plan to kill Saman was discussed within the family. Noman and Ijaz were not accused of being the people who originated that plan, but prosecutors ultimately argued that both men knowingly became involved.
Saman was last seen during the early hours of 1 May 2021. Security cameras captured her leaving the house with her mother. Her mother subsequently returned without her, while Saman’s father was also seen in the area. The footage became an important part of the investigation because it provided investigators with a visual record of what happened around the time she vanished.
Then came the departures.
Saman’s parents left for Pakistan shortly afterwards, while Noman and Ijaz also fled. Their sudden absence naturally raised questions for investigators, particularly alongside conflicting accounts given by other relatives about when Saman had supposedly left the family home.
Saman’s younger brother Ali eventually provided investigators with an account that dramatically changed the direction of the case. He said he had seen his sister being taken towards a dark area where Danish Hasnain, Noman and Ijaz were waiting. According to his testimony, Danish grabbed Saman and dragged her away, while the cousins were involved in what happened next.
The investigation eventually became even more significant when Saman’s remains were found in November 2022. Danish had provided information about the location of the burial, leading authorities to the place where her body had been concealed.
Earlier surveillance footage also became important. Cameras had recorded Danish, Noman and Ijaz in the area several days before Saman disappeared, carrying various tools and other items. Prosecutors used that footage as part of their argument that the killing had involved preparation rather than being an entirely spontaneous act.
The cousins were arrested in different countries. Ijaz Ikram was arrested in Nîmes, France, in May 2021, while Noman Ul Haq was arrested in Barcelona, Spain, in February 2022. Both were eventually brought into the Italian proceedings.
Their first trial produced a result that would later become one of the biggest twists in the case. While Saman’s parents and Danish were convicted, Noman and Ijaz were acquitted. They were therefore initially due to walk free.
But that was not the end of the matter.
The prosecution appealed, and the cousins were arrested again in May 2025 as the next stage of proceedings moved forward. The appeal court eventually overturned their acquittals and concluded that both men had knowingly participated in Saman’s killing.
The revised sentences were severe. Noman Ul Haq and Ijaz Ikram were both sentenced to life imprisonment, while Saman’s father Shabbar Abbas and mother Nazia Shaheen also received life sentences. Danish Hasnain, whose original sentence had been 14 years, received an increased term of 22 years.
The appeal court's reasoning also focused on the possibility that Noman and Ijaz had been willing participants because of their loyalty to relatives and the circumstances surrounding Saman’s choices. The judgment argued that their involvement demonstrated a willingness to assist with serious criminal acts when requested by members of their family.
That interpretation was not the final stop, either. In July 2026, Italy’s Supreme Court confirmed the appeal verdict, making the convictions definitive.
So, where are Noman Ul Haq and Ijaz Ikram now? Both remain in an Italian prison, serving life sentences for their roles in Saman Abbas’ murder. After years of investigation, international arrests, an acquittal, a renewed prosecution and a successful appeal, their legal position is now settled.
There is something particularly striking about the cousins’ journey through the Italian courts. They were not convicted at the first trial, meaning the story did not follow the neat beginning-to-end path that crime documentaries often make look deceptively simple. Instead, their case changed dramatically as different courts examined the evidence. One moment they were acquitted and facing release; later, they were back in custody and facing life behind bars. Courtrooms, rather than dramatic documentary music, ultimately decided their fate.
The wider case also shows why the disappearance of Saman took so long to unravel. Several family members left Italy, accounts differed, surveillance footage had to be examined and her remains were not discovered until more than a year after she vanished. By the time the evidence was assembled, the investigation had crossed several countries and involved testimony, video footage and the eventual discovery of the burial site.
For Noman and Ijaz, however, the final chapter is now clear. They remain incarcerated in Italy, with their life sentences confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2026. Their acquittal in the original trial is now part of the case’s complicated history rather than their current legal status.
The case has raised plenty of questions about family pressure, individual choices and the evidence that ultimately persuaded the appeal court to reach a different conclusion from the first trial. If you watched Saman: The Hidden Truth, what did you make of the cousins’ dramatic change from acquittal to life imprisonment?