Trial begins for Iraqi immigrant accused of killing his daughter in hit-run attack because she was 'too westernised'

Crime scene: The car park in Arizona where Faleh Hassan Almaleki is accused of driving a jeep at his 20-year-old daughter and a family friend







An Iraqi immigrant accused of killing his daughter because he believed she was too Westernised is to go on trial in Arizona this month.

Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 50, faces life in prison if convicted. The case raised awareness about incident of so-called 'honour killings' in the U.S.

In October 2009, he slammed his Jeep into his daughter, Noor Almaleki, 20, prosecutors said.

The woman, who longed to live a normal American life, was in a coma for two weeks before succumbing to her injuries - in a case that caused outrage from people nationwide.

Faleh Almaleki moved his family from Iraq to the Phoenix suburb of Glendale in the mid-1990s.

He and Noor had a tumultuous relationship, according to police and court records and her close friends.

At 17, she refused to enter into an arranged marriage in Iraq, enraging her father, according to a court document filed by prosecutors.

At 19, Noor moved into her own apartment and began working at a fast food restaurant but quit and left her new place after her parents kept showing up at her work, insisting that she return home, the document said.

Later in 2009, she moved into the home of her boyfriend and his parents, Reikan and Amal Khalaf.
They say that she claimed her parents had beaten her.

Almaleki is accused of regularly harassing his daughter and the Khalafs.
Mr Khalaf said Almaleki told him that if Noor didn't move out of the Khalaf home 'something bad was going to happen'.

On October 20, 2009, Noor spotted her father when she and Mrs Khalaf visited a Department of Economic Security office in Peoria.

She is alleged to have sent text messages to friends, telling them that her father was at the office and expressing her fear.

When the two women left the office, Faleh Almaleki allegedly hit them with his Jeep before speeding off and fleeing the country, prosecutors said.

Law enforcement soon caught up with him and returned him to Phoenix.

Noor underwent spinal surgery but died on November 2, 2009. Amal Khalaf survived.
Prosecutors wrote in a court document: 'The investigation into these crimes revealed that the defendant was very angry with Noor for not living by traditional Iraqi values - as she had, in his eyes, become too "westernised" and brought dishonour on her family.

Almaleki is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and leaving the scene of a serious injury accident.

Some of his court dates were postponed because he was on suicide watch for a while, and his lawyers said he didn't understand the judicial process.

His trial is set to begin on January 18.

Prosecutors are asking the judge to allow them to include the text messages that Noor Almaleki sent the day of her killing and her father's prior 'bad acts' against his daughter in the years leading up to her killing.

Both show malice and premeditation, prosecutors argue.

They wrote: 'Evidence of a defendant's prior act is also admissible to disprove the claim that the charged crime was a mistake or accident.'

Defense attorneys argue that testimony about any prior acts committed by Almaleki should not be allowed at trial, saying there's no evidence and that it's all hearsay.

They added: 'The inference is highly prejudicial and will taint Mr Almaleki's chances for a fair trial.

The United Nations estimates that about 5,000 honour killings occur across the globe every year.

Although rare, they do happen in the U.S.

In the Dallas suburb of Lewisville, Texas, Yaser Abdel Said, of Egypt, is accused of shooting his two Texas-born teenage daughters in the back of his taxi cab in 2008 in what the FBI calls an honour killing.

Family members say Said felt the girls were acting too Western and had shamed him by dating non-Muslims.

In Buffalo, New York, Muzzammil Hassan is accused of beheading his wife in 2009, about a week after he was served with divorce papers.

The body of Aasiya Hassan was found at the offices of Bridges TV, the station the Pakistan-born couple established in 2004 to counter negative stereotypes of Muslims.
Peoria police spokesman Mike Tellef said Noor Almaleki's killing raised awareness about honour killings in the U.S.

'It shocked a lot of people,' he said. 'I think it was a real eye-opener. This stuff's real, we've watched it on the news and heard about it in Florida, New York and other places in the U.S. It really is in our front yard.'