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Husband Sentenced to 25 Years for Burning Pregnant Partner Alive in Metz

The verdict underscores failures in the French system to prevent lethal domestic violence.

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Overview

  • The Cour d’assises de la Moselle sentenced Maroof Easakhail to 25 years in prison with a 12.5-year period of security and a 15-year ban on owning firearms.
  • In June 2022, Easakhail set fire to the couple’s social-housing apartment in Metz, inflicting third-degree burns over 90% of Anita Gashi’s body and causing her death a month later along with the loss of her five-month pregnancy.
  • Easakhail acknowledged starting the fire but told the court it was part of an insurance fraud scheme, a claim judges rejected as implausible given the lack of valuable property.
  • Prosecutors argued the attack was premeditated and alleged that Easakhail sought to eliminate his partner after securing custody of their son and obtaining a residence permit.
  • Gashi’s family and the lawyer for her seven-year-old son underscored his profound grief after losing both his mother and unborn sibling and raised concerns about the system’s handling of domestic violence.