A 35-year-old Montreal man appeared in Montreal court on Tuesday and was charged with second-degree murder of his wife in Cote Saint-Luc. This is the 11th femicide case in Quebec this year and has an outcry for the government to act.
Zoleikha Bakhtiar, 36, was killed on Monday night in an apartment building on Adalbert Avenue, near Earle Road. After investigation, the police determined that there were in a marital relationship. Ariobarzan Bakhtiar, the accused has been remanded into custody and will be brought back to court on 5th July.
The police received a call around midnight about a woman suffering from injuries. When police arrived, they found the woman injured by a sharp object. She was shortly pronounced dead on the scene.
Quebec’s government has allotted $222 million in fighting violence against women. The funds are to finance organizations help violent men and judicial services offered to victims of domestic violence in court.
A group that works with the victim of marital violence expressed disappointment by the alleged femicide. They added that domestic violence is dangerous and it’s put victims to valid fears of violence.
“There are no words to describe our reaction. We are extremely sad. And it shows the reality of what intimate partner violence is, how dangerous it can be. It puts forth the reality of the fear of the victims of violence, that it’s a valid fear.”
