Honour killing story: Aylin/Baha (2009)

Aylin/Baha
born: 1984
Strangled: April 20, 2009
Residence: Cologne
Origin: Turkey
Children: 1 daughter (age 3 at the time of the crime)
Perpetrator: her husband Zafer K. (at the time of the crime 33 years old)

Zafer was born in Germany and works as an engineer in power systems electronics. At his brother's wedding in Turkey, he meets Aylin (some call her Baha). She studies business administration, but quits and moves to Germany in 2002. In 2005, a joint daughter is born.

The relationship is violent. There are police interventions due to domestic violence. In 2008, the police banish Zafer from their joint apartment for 10 days. Aylin wears long blond hair extensions. There may be a dispute over her chatting on the Internet.

After an argument in April 2009, Zafer strangles his wife in their bedroom. He strangles her with her braid until she is dead. Then he turns himself in to the police. On November 24, 2009, Zafer is sentenced to four years in prison by the Cologne Regional Court. In the sentence, the judge also mentions a knife injury that Aylin inflicted on her husband. Overall, the verdict sees Zafer primarily as a victim of a broken relationship.

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.