Honour killing story: Anna (2008)

Anna
born: 1961
beaten to death: 8 December 2008
Residence: Essen
Origin: Turkey
Children: at least one son
Perpetrator: her husband, aged 62 at the time of the crime.

In the marriage between Anna and her Turkish husband, violence occurs frequently. The police evict him from the apartment several times and issue restraining orders.

But on December 8, 2008, Anna's husband kills her in her sleep. He leaves her covered in blood in the apartment and flees to his son (or stepson).

Witnesses see him drive away in a cab around 10 a.m. In the afternoon, family members find the body and alert the police. The perpetrator is arrested at his son's house and initially admitted to a psychiatric hospital. There his culpability is to be investigated.

Further details are missing. So it remains unclear whether this case is an honor killing. The real names of victim and perpetrator are also unknown. The WAZ reported on this case on 9.12.2008 (unfortunately no longer online). Any information would make us happy!

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.