Muzzammil Hassan
Muzzammil Hassan | |
---|---|
Born | |
Other names | Mo Steve Hassan |
Alma mater | University of Rochester |
Occupation(s) | Former banker, CEO of Bridges TV |
Criminal status | Incarcerated in Clinton Correctional Facility |
Spouse | Aasiya Zubair (deceased) |
Children | Four |
Criminal charge | Second-degree murder |
Penalty | Imprisonment of 25 years to life |
Muzzammil Syed Hassan (born May 26, 1964), also known as Mo Steve Hassan, is a
Bridges TV was the first American He resigned from the position in February 2009.[6]On February 7, 2011, Hassan was found guilty of second degree murder for beheading his wife of eight years, Aasiya Zubair.[7]
Professional life
Muzzammil Hassan came to the United States from Pakistan at age 17,
In 2004, his wife Aasiya prompted him to develop "an American Muslim media where her kids could grow up feeling really strong about their identity as an American Muslim."
Murder, arrest, and trial
In February 2009, Hassan was arrested and charged with
The divorce petition cited "violence and inhuman treatment" as the reason. Police reports indicated that Zubair stated her husband's abusive and
Prosecutor Colleen Curtin Gable said Hassan, who is stocky and over 6 feet tall, bought two hunting knives less than an hour before the attack, then parked his SUV out of view at the station, and hid in wait inside the station to await his wife. When Hassan's wife walked through the door, he stabbed her more than 40 times in the face, back, chest, and decapitated her, some of which was caught on surveillance video. Their 4- and 6-year-old children, plus a teenage son from one of his two previous marriages, were left buckled into car seats outside in a van during the murder.
Hassan, who dismissed four defense attorneys and acted as his own lawyer during the trial, used his two-hour closing remarks telling the jury how he was a slave to his wife's rages. However, Hassan never produced any witnesses or evidence to substantiate his abuse claims, while prosecutors cited numerous police reports filed by his wife and her medical records which testified to her being the battered spouse.[18]
The New York state jury convicted Muzzammil "Mo" Hassan of second-degree murder after an hour of deliberation. Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita said the sentence was the maximum amount that could be imposed under state law, and that Hassan will not be "eligible to talk to the parole board" for 25 years. "The chances of him getting out before his sentence is completed is not going to happen." A protection order on behalf of Hassan's two children was also issued by Erie County Judge Thomas Franczyk.[19]
Reaction to arrest
Shortly after the arrest, Bridges TV posted the following notice on their website:
Bridges TV is deeply shocked and saddened by the murder of Aasiya [Zubair] Hassan and subsequent arrest of Muzzammil Hassan. Our deepest condolences and prayers go out to the families of the victim. We request that their right to privacy be respected.[14]
At the Muslim Community Center in
The victim's sister, 42-year-old Asma Firfirey of the vicinity of
Khalid Qazi, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Western New York and a friend of the couple, said that Hassan "was worried about the station's future" and added "Domestic violence is despicable, and Islam condones it in no way whatever."[22] Afshan Qureshi, a local Muslim leader and the president of an advocacy group in Rochester, New York for domestic violence victims, lamented that the community had been too quick to overlook Muzzammil Hassan's faults: "We punished the victims. People said the first marriage failed because the girl was American, the second marriage failed because the girl wasn't patient enough and then, look, the third wife is happy. Everything is OK. The community is an accomplice in the story of Muzzammil Hassan."[23]
Conversely,
Although the crime was quickly decried by Muslim groups, many talk shows and blogs used the horror of Muzzammil's act to indict an entire community -- in a way that they would never have accused the entire Christian religion because a Methodist man murdered his estranged wife in a horrible way. Three weeks ago, a Chinese graduate student at Virginia Tech cut off a female friend's head with a knife. Not a single news outlet referred to his religion.[25]
On March 5, 2010, Hassan's attorneys announced that Hassan "isn't even a practicing Muslim and that public speculation has been unfair."[26]
According to a former employee, in the past few years Bridges TV transformed itself into more of a cross-cultural network seeking to bridge the gap between all cultures. Most of their employees were not Muslim, the former employee said, and Muzzammil Hassan himself was not devout, neither
The
Previous marriages and children
Prior to his marriage to Aasiya Zubair, Hassan was married twice before: first, to a Caucasian American woman, Janice, with whom he had two children, Michael and Sonia; second, for 13 months to a Pakistani-American Muslim woman, Sadia. According to Sadia's cousin, Zerqa Abid, both of his earlier wives filed for divorce on the same grounds of severe domestic violence and abuses.[23][31]
In addition to the two children from his first marriage (ages 32–33 and 33–34), he has two children (a girl age 19–20 and a boy age 21–22) from his third marriage (to Aasiya).[32]
Trial
The prosecution accused Hassan of stabbing his wife 40 times and beheading her because she filed for divorce six days before.[33] Hassan's lawyer, Jeremy Schwartz, claims Hassan was beaten by his wife and feared for his life.[33] Hassan initially pleaded not guilty to the charge of second-degree murder.[33] The trial began on Tuesday, January 18, 2011. On Monday, January 24, Hassan gained permission from Judge Thomas Franczyk to represent himself after repeatedly trying to dismiss his own defense attorney, Jeremy Schwartz. Hassan did admit, however, that he had beaten his wife repeatedly between December 2007 and March 2008.[34]
On January 24, Hassan asked for the case to be dismissed, citing lack of evidence by the prosecution. This request was denied. On the same day, text messages between Hassan and his wife from the date of the murder were released as evidence.[35] In an unusual turn, Hassan asked to represent himself. After first denying him, Erie County Court Judge Thomas Franczyk eventually granted his request. He testified on the 27th and 28 January, with his former defense attorney Jeremy Schwartz acting as his legal adviser.
Hassan is currently incarcerated in Clinton Correctional Facility. His parole hearing date is set for October 2033.[2]
References
- ^ Did we ever bother to know Muzzammil? Archived 2009-02-21 at the Wayback Machine Al-Arabiya News Channel, February 19, 2009
- ^ a b "Inmate Population Information Search". New York Department of Correctional Services (DIN: 11B0672). Archived from the original on April 20, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- ^ a b News aljazeerah.info: First American Muslim Television Channel Announced by Bridges Network Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Press Release: Bridges TV Debuts American Muslim Television Network in English Nationwide on November 30, 2004 Archived March 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c CNN: Founder of Islamic TV station accused of beheading wife (February 16, 2009)
- ^ Gryta, Matt (2009-03-14). "Hassan denied bail in murder, decapitation of wife". Buffalo, New York: The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on March 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ New York Times, February 17, 2009
- ^ a b [dead link]Voice of America:Muslims in America Reach Out (16 November 2004)
- ^ a b Huffington Post, February 17, 2009
- ^ Beheaded woman's sister: I might have heard deadly confrontation CNN, February 17, 2009
- ^ Miller, Joshua Rhett (February 16, 2009). "Muslim Television Channel Founder Charged With Beheading His Wife". Foxnews.com. FOX News Network. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ CAIR-PA First Annual Banquet
- ^ Muslim TV exec accused of beheading wife in NY AP, 2009-02-17
- ^ a b c Bridges TV Accessed 17 February 2009 Archived 19 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kompos, Athan. "Mo Hassan Explains Why He Beheaded His Wife". wgrz.com. Multimedia Entertainment, INC.. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "The Buffalo News: A history of abuse preceded Orchard Park beheading (02/22/09)". Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
- ^ "The Buffalo News: Slain Orchard Park woman was stabbed before beheading (02/21/09)". Archived from the original on 2009-02-24. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
- ^ THOMPSON, CAROLYN. "Muzzammil Hassan Convicted Of Beheading Wife". huffingtonpost.com. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "New York TV exec gets 25 years to life for wife's beheading". cnn.com. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. March 9, 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ New York Times, February 17, 2008
- ^ digitaljournal.com: Monster beheaded my sister, says Cape Town woman (Feb 14, 2009)
- ^ US Muslim TV boss arrested for beheading wife
- ^ a b c Prelude to Murder, The Daily Beast, February 23, 2009
- ^ New York Daily News Muslim TV mogul Muzzammil Hassan's alleged beheading of wife, Aasiya Hassan, may be 'honor killing' (February 17th 2009)
- ^ Kim Gandy, "No Woman, No Culture Immune to Violence Against Women", February 20 2009
- ^ [dead link] http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=908484&category=STATE
- ^ CNN Report, February 17, 2009
- ^ Beliefnet: A Murder in Buffalo Touches Us Al l
- ^ "Illume Magazine, February 17, 2009". Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- ^ Response to Aasiya Hassan’s Murder: Open Letter to Muslim Leaders Archived 2009-02-25 at the Wayback Machine, Islamic Society of North America/CAIR
- ^ Zerqa Abid, ZAPS Technocrats, Inc., 17 February 2009
- ^ "The Buffalo News, February 17, 2009". Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
- ^ a b c BBC (18 January 2011). "Beheading trial opens in New York for TV executive". BBC News. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ WGRZ (26 January 2011). "Mo Hassan Trial: Jurors Sent Home For Today". Retrieved 26 January 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ WIVB (26 January 2011). "Prosecution rests their case in beheading trial". Retrieved 26 January 2011.