‘Honor killings’ suspect gets bail
Sister of woman slain placed under house arrest, can attend mosque
A Muslim woman charged with stalking for her alleged part in a criminal plot that ended with two fatal shootings in 2012 will be allowed to worship at a mosque once a week while under house arrest as she awaits trial, a Houston judge ruled Wednesday.
Nadia Irsan, 32, was released this month on a total of $250,000 in bail.
In ironing out the bail conditions, state District Judge Jan Krocker said Irsan cannot take driving lessons, must wear a GPS ankle monitor and must essentially stay home except for court appearances and Friday services at her mosque.
“Let me make this clear,” Krocker said in court. “Since this is a stalking case, I don’t want her wandering around.”
Krocker also voiced her frustration that the fouryear-old case has yet to be resolved and set it for trial in July.
After considering whether Irsan should hire her own legal counsel, the judge decided to keep two lawyers from the Harris County Public Defenders Office, Eric Davis and Jackie Carpenter, on the case.
After Wednesday’s hearing, Davis said Irsan’s bail was paid by family members taking out debt and that she is “effectively indigent.”
Irsan is awaiting trial along with her father, Ali Mahwood-Awad, and his wife and adult son for their alleged part in two shootings that authorities have called “honor killings.”
They are all accused of gunning down her sister’s husband and her sister’s best friend, Iranian activist Gelareh Bagherzadeh.
Prosecutors say the family conspired to commit the shootings after the sister disavowed the family to marry a Houston man, 28-year-old Coty Beavers, who was killed in 2012.
Irsan and other members of her family have been convicted of fraud in an unrelated case in federal court.
After she was convicted in 2015, Irsan was moved to the Harris County Jail to face state charges for her alleged role in the shootings.