Honor killing in Lüneburg: 19-year-old killed by her boyfriend

Jana D.
born: 2002
stabbed to death: 18/19 January 2021
Residence: Lüneburg
Origin: victim: Germany; perpetrator: unclear, possibly Syria
Children: none
Perpetrator: her boyfriend Fares A. (at the time of the crime 19 years old)

Jana is from Horndorf in the Lower Saxon district of Lüneburg, goes to school and wants to take final exams in 2021. Since 2019, she has been together with the equally old Fares.

On January 18, 2021, she does not come home in the evening, after which her father goes looking for her by car. Around 3 a.m., he discovers her body in a car in a commuter parking lot in Lueneburg-Schützenplatz. The next afternoon, her boyfriend is arrested at his parents' house. The knife is found.

There is a "known Syrian integration helper" in Lüneburg, whose son could be the perpetrator. Otherwise, the origin is unclear.

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.
wants to end the relationship.
was the victim of rape or sexual assault.
was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.