- New Jersey,
A case has been lodged against Seth Latif in New Jersey with the state as the Plaintiff. The court has ordered Seth Latif to appear before judge Benjamin S Bucca Jr. in court room 0505 for a pre indictment conference (PIC) on January 29, 2021.
Police recently arrested Seth Latif and his son, Zahid Latif. Seth Latif was accused of torturing his wife, Sehrish Ali. On January 3rd, Seth Latif’s lawyer applied for pre trial services for his client but the court ordered to send Seth Latif and Zahid Latif to the detention center. The hearing is adjourned until January 5, 2021.
According to a Court Document “Plaintiff accuses the defendant of sexual assaulting her last night 12/27/2020, she explains that while she was upstairs in her room she doing her final prayer, her husband came into the room and told her to stop praying and to engage in intercourse with him. She did not want to have sex with him at this time but he continued to force himself on her. They did engage in non-consensual vagina intercourse. The plaintiff also states the defendant cut her with a knife she was using to cut food later in the day”.
Zahid Latif, son of Seth Latif, was also named in this case documents state.
“Plaintiff alleges that approximately 1 and ½ weeks ago the defendant (step son) threatened her life. He specifically was angry with her over her refusal to go to Pakistan with her husband (Defendants Father). During the argument the defendant began loading a large black handgun with ammunition. The defendant then pointed the firearm at her and said ‘I can have you killed over here to.’ This was understood to be referencing that the defendant could have her killed in the United States and in Pakistan.
On 12/27/2020 the plaintiff was again threatened by the defendant by him telling her that he was going to kill her.
The plaintiff also alleges that over the past month the defendant had been groping her specifically by “touching her thighs and breasts”.
The present situation has sparked outrage in the US against Seth Latif. The Pakistani community, especially women who come from different walks of life, have criticized Seth Latif and his son.
Women2Women Forum chairperson, Nusrat Sohail, strongly condemns this incident. She said this occurrence is embarrassing for the whole community, and this case is purely domestic violence and cannot be tolerated at all.
Sohail stated that no woman should ever have to tolerate violence from her husband or any family member, especially in an educated society.
“We all are the ambassadors and representatives of our beloved home land, we cannot do such things here. If anyone has a conflict or any unlikely incident, they can sit and talk at home and resolve the issue. Involve the elders for conflict resolution and if the conflict escalates or cannot be solved take legal action. Send legal notices and involve the police. Rather than abuse and hurt, for God’s sake, don’t disrespect your wife.”, she added.
Pakistani-American skilled women organization (PASWO) chairperson, Atiya Shehnaz, also condemned domestic violence in all forms stating “our religion itself respects women, yet living in a developed country like the United States, when we see such incidents,
we are amazed at what society we live in. Recently a very sad incident took place with our sister, Sehrish, in such a way that she was tortured and abused. This incident must be interrogated thoroughly and justice must prevail. As a women’s advocate, I support her and I offered her PASWO’s assistance.”
