Honour killing story: Ayse Y. (2003)

Ayse Y.
born:
stabbed to death: April 2003
Residence: Obertshausen (near Offenbach)
Origin: Turkey
Children: one daughter (born 1994), one son (born 1990)
Perpetrator: her husband, aged 34 at the time of the crime.

Nothing would be known about this honor killing if not for the aftermath: In December 2008, 19-year-old Rasit Y. stabbed his father to death in his sleep to avenge the murder of his mother. Both acts happened in the same apartment. The Darmstadt court will open the trial in May 2009, so the case will be in the media again.

Only this is known: In April 2003, the truck driver stabs his wife to death. His lawyer will later say that her modern, Western-oriented lifestyle was her downfall (indicating an honor killing). The traditionally minded husband could not cope. The two had a daughter and a son.

Ayse's killer is sentenced to 7 years in prison for manslaughter, but is released in the summer of 2008 after 5 years. A few months later his son stabs him to death (see above).

The son was sentenced to a 6-year juvenile sentence by the district court of Darmstadt in May 2009.

Ayse is not the mother's real name.

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.