{"id":2300,"date":"2026-05-19T18:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/?p=2300"},"modified":"2026-05-19T18:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:52:18","slug":"man-sentenced-to-death-for-killing-teen-tiktok-star-sana-yousaf-in-pakistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/betreview.net\/?p=2300","title":{"rendered":"Man sentenced to death for killing teen TikTok star Sana Yousaf in Pakistan"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

A Pakistani court sentenced a man to death on Tuesday for murdering a teenage influencer last year, after she had repeatedly rejected his advances.<\/p>\n

Sana Yousaf’s murder\u00a0in June drew nationwide condemnation and reignited debate over women’s safety, after some online comments \u2014 alongside condolences \u2014 blamed her for her own death.<\/p>\n

A judge announced to a cramped Islamabad courtroom on Tuesday afternoon that 22-year-old Umar Hayat<\/span> was sentenced to death and fined $7,200, an AFP reporter in court saw.<\/p>\n

Hayat shot 17-year-old TikTok star Yousaf at her home in the capital after she repeatedly rejected him, according to police and the teenager’s family.<\/p>\n

Yousaf had millions of followers on social media, where she posted videos about food, fashion and skincare.<\/p>\n

She also spoke openly about relationship problems, a topic still considered taboo in the Muslim majority country.<\/p>\n

\"PAKISTAN-CRIME-WOMEN-SOCIAL<\/span>
Women activists, holding posters and photographs of murdered TikTok influencer Sana Yousaf, take part in a demonstration condemning violence against women in Islamabad on June 5, 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

FAROOQ NAEEM\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

<\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

News of her killing triggered an outpouring of comments under her final post, a video celebrating her 17th birthday in which she blew out candles on a cake just days before her death.<\/p>\n

Alongside condolence messages, some users blamed the teenager for her own murder, writing comments such as: “You reap what you sow” and “It’s deserved, she was tarnishing Islam.”<\/p>\n

In her Instagram profile picture, she is smiling and holding sunflowers.<\/p>\n

TikTok enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan due to its easy-to-use and visually led format, with tens of millions of users. Women have found both audience and income on the app, which is rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of the women participate in the formal economy.<\/p>\n

But it has also faced temporary bans. The government has suspended the platform several times, citing concerns that the app promotes immoral or unlawful content.<\/p>\n

In July, police in Pakistan said a father\u00a0shot and killed his daughter<\/span>\u00a0after she refused to delete her TikTok account.<\/p>\n

Violence against women is pervasive in Pakistan, according to the country’s Human Rights Commission, and cases of women being attacked after rejecting marriage proposals are not uncommon.<\/p>\n

\"APTOPIX<\/span>
Police officers escort suspect Umar Hayat, who allegedly killed teen influencer Sana Yousaf, following his court appearance in Islamabad on Sept. 25, 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Muhammad Yousuf \/ AP<\/p>\n

<\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2021, 27-year-old Noor Mukadam was\u00a0beheaded by her Pakistani-American boyfriend<\/span>, Zahir Jaffer, after she rejected his marriage proposal in a case that sparked widespread anger. Jaffer was sentenced to death.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Khadija Siddiqui survived being stabbed 23 times by an ex-boyfriend.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n