New Yorker Accused of Beheading Wife in Honor Killing Pleads Not Guilty
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The founder of a Muslim-American television channel has pleaded not guilty to murder in the beheading of his wife.
Muzzammil Hassan is charged with second-degree murder for the Feb. 12 death of his wife, Aasiya, at the offices of Bridges TV in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park.
The 44-year-old businessman was arraigned Friday morning and ordered held without bail.
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Aasiya was stabbed multiple times and decapitated. The president of the National Organization for Women's New York chapter has condemned her death as an honor killing — a characterization local victim advocacy groups oppose.
The couple launched Bridges TV in 2004, saying they hoped to balance negative portrayals of Muslims.