Bahar Ebrahimi is a fun-loving 19-year-old who "knows how to have a good time," according to a bio she posted on a social networking website. "I'm an Afghan (proud to be!!! straightup!!)," she added.

Shortly after 8 a.m. on Sunday, after returning to her family home from a night out, Ms. Ebrahimi was attacked with a knife and suffered serious stab wounds to her head, face, shoulder and arm. On Monday, her mother, Johra Kaleki, appeared in Quebec Court on charges of attempted murder and assault in what the Crown is treating as an honour crime.

Ms. Kaleki, 38, appeared dazed as she stood in the prisoner's box, a bandage on her left forearm. At the request of her lawyer, Tom Pentefountas, she's been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

The Ebrahimi family celebrates becoming Canadian citizens at a Montreal-area citizenship court on Canada Day, 2002. Johra Kaleki, centre, allegedly stabbed her 19-year-old daughter, Bahar Ebrahimi, second from left, in Dorval on Sunday

The Ebrahimi family celebrates becoming Canadian citizens at a Montreal-area citizenship court on Canada Day, 2002. Johra Kaleki, centre, allegedly stabbed her 19-year-old daughter, Bahar Ebrahimi, second from left, in Dorval on Sunday

Tedd Church/Canwest News Service Files

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The evaluation will occur before her next court appearance, on July 12. Mr. Pentefountas told the court that the Crown is treating the matter as a "crime of honour," something he disputed.

"We think there was a temporary lapse in the mental capacity of Mme. Johra," Mr. Pentefountas said, referring to his client by her first name. "Under normal circumstances, Mme. Johra is a quite balanced individual." He described her as "hysterical" on Sunday morning during the alleged encounter with her daughter.

Crown prosecutor Anne Gauvin asked that Ms. Kaleki be prohibited from contacting her husband and her four daughters, all of whom are potential witnesses. The defence objected to the ban on contact with her husband, Ebrahim Ebrahimi, prompting him to rise from his seat at the back of the courtroom and appeal to the judge. "Please sir, my wife is innocent," Mr. Ebrahimi said. Ms. Kaleki, wearing a grey T-shirt and Adidas track pants, wept.

Judge Serge Boisvert agreed to permit contact between husband and wife, but she is not allowed to speak to her children. The three younger daughters, aged 10, 14 and 16, have been temporarily placed with youth protection authorities. Ms. Kaleki faces three charges: attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. Police said her daughter is in stable condition.

In a brief telephone interview from his home following the court appearance, a distraught Mr. Ebrahimi expressed support for his wife. He said he does not think his wife was trying to protect the family's honour. "I think she lost her mind," he said. "I don't know. I don't know."

He described Bahar as "a good girl" and said he has been unable to see her since she was taken away in an ambulance. "I can't find out where my daughter is," he said.

Bahar's profile on the netlog.comsite is accompanied by a photo of her in front of a flowering purple shrub. "I love anything and anyone who can make me laugh! I have a great sense of humour," she writes. "I'm a very determined person (wow.) lol. I know how to have a good time and I know how to just ... chill you know?" Using the nickname Afgun Mamasita, she describes herself as "a good friend and even betta girlfriend." A neighbour who lives across from the Ebrahimis said the family, originally from Afghanistan, kept to themselves. "They were very nice people. They would smile when they went by," said the neighbour, who asked that her name not be published.

She said the Ebrahimis had lived in the suburban, semidetached home near Dorval's Trudeau airport for about three years. In July 2002, a photo of the couple and their three eldest daughters, everyone clutching small Canadian flags after they were sworn in as Canadian citizens, appeared in The Gazette.

The case follows last year's arrest on murder charges of three members of a Montreal family who emigrated from Afghanistan. Mohammed Shafia, his wife, Tooba Mohammad Yahya, and their son, Hamed Shafia, are accused of killing three of the Shafia couple's daughters and Mr. Shafia's first wife in what police have described as an honour crime.

Honour crimes, most prevalent in countries with large Muslim populations, target women who are perceived to have shamed their families.