Father convicted of assaulting daughter who refused arranged Iraqi marriage

A U.S. citizen of Iraqi heritage who choked his 17-year-old daughter for refusing to travel to Iraq for an arranged marriage was found guilty of assault in Washington state on Thursday.

Jurors in Thurston County, Washington, convicted Ihsan Ali of assault and unlawful imprisonment after tracking down the victim, who had run away from home, and abusing her outside a high school in October 2024 while her mother watched, local media outlets reported. The mother, Zahraa Ali, was convicted of violating a court order during the incident, which her daughter reportedly characterized as a potential attempted “honor killing” common in Muslim-majority countries.

Ihsan Ali was seen on video choking his daughter on the ground at the high school with several witnesses surrounding them, according to FOX 13 Seattle. The victim previously reported abuse by her parents, who wished to send her to Iraq to marry an older man. Witnesses said they saw the victim’s eyes roll back while in the chokehold.

Ihsan Ali was reportedly acquitted of first-degree assault, while both parents were cleared of attempted murder.

The victim’s father was also recorded telling his wife not to let police take his car as they led him into custody in handcuffs, apparently saying nothing about his daughter’s condition, The New York Post reported.

“And when you look at that video, you see she does not provide any aid at any time to her child, zero aid,” lead prosecutor Heather Stone told jurors about Zahraa Ali. “That is not an effort to comfort her child. Again, that is not where her loyalty lies in this situation, and she demonstrates that over and over again.”

Attorneys said in court that the victim had previously traveled with her family to Iraq, the family’s native country, and did not want to go back because she said she felt unsafe there. Tim Leary, who represented Zahraa Ali, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the victim’s parents are both U.S. citizens.

Leary told the DCNF that any claim of an “honor killing” in the case was “flat wrong” and that the prosecution never used the term.

“As for my client’s actions, her daughter told the police that she did not think that her mom was trying to hurt her. Rather, she thought that her mom was trying to protect her from the chaos of that afternoon at the bus stop … I respect and appreciate the care and attention that the jury paid to the facts and the law in this case,” Leary told the DCNF.

The prosecution said Ihsan Ali faces up to two years and two months in prison, KOMO News reported. Zahraa was released due to jail time she served in custody.

Ihsan Ali’s attorney in the case did not respond to a request for comment.

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