Honour killing story

Ahmet
Born: 1985
Attempted murder: May 9, 2010
Residence: Bonn
Origin: Kurds, victim: Syria; perpetrator: Turkey
Children: probably none
Perpetrator: Onur Gürbüz, the brother of his ex-girlfriend (21 years old at the time of the crime)
On May 9, 2010, Onur is waiting for his sister's ex-boyfriend at a crosswalk in Bonn. He has four companions with him. First he beats up Ahmet, then rams a knife into his upper body. The victim is taken to the hospital seriously injured. The perpetrator goes into hiding.

The investigation team determines that the perpetrator had already threatened the victim several times because he disagreed with his sister's relationship. On June 16, Onur is apprehended after a manhunt.

When the court opens the trial in November, it indicates that a conviction for attempted murder (and not just assault) is also possible.

In court it is revealed that the victim and the perpetrator grew up in Bonn and have known each other for a long time. Both families are Kurdish, the perpetrators strictly Muslim. The victim's family is more liberal and comes from Syria.

In 2007, Ahmet fell in love with the perpetrator's sister. At that time, Onur was already serving a sentence of several years. At the sister's request, they visited him together in prison. The families are against the relationship and so the marriage negotiations are broken off.

The relationship is also broken at the end of 2009 probably for that reason When Onur learns this, he threatens Ahmet already from prison to kill him. After his release from prison, he starts stalking his later victim.

In February 2011, Onur is sentenced by the Bonn Regional Court to 4 years and 9 months in prison for inflicting grievous bodily harm. The motive cited was the restoration of family honor. The perpetrator's family had probably exerted enormous pressure on the victim. He would claim in court that there was no knife involved.

It is not known when Onur will be released from prison, but in December 2015 he will be on remand again. The now 27-year-old is said to belong to the Bandidos group and be involved in a shooting.

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:

Questions about honour killings

  • 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.

Posted in Attempted murder, Investigation and tagged , , .