Honour killing story

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Fadia H.
born 1979
stabbed to death: 3 November 2000
Residence: Celle/Lüneburg
Origin: Kurdish Yazidi from Syria
Children: none
Perpetrator: her brother Rudank H.(at the time of the crime 20 years old)
In 1994, Fadia came to Celle with her family from Syria. Her parents later have her move to Lüneburg to train as a pharmaceutical technical assistant. There she falls in love with a German who is three years older. But her family wants to force her to marry a man from her religious community. Fadia refuses.

One day the young woman goes to see her parents, possibly for an enlightening conversation. Then she is stabbed to death in the street by her 20-year-old brother Rudank. She bleeds to death. According to the forensic medical examination, the six knife stabs were carried out with great force.

Despite this, the brother states that it was an accident and that Fadia attacked him first.

When the trial was finally due to open in the spring of 2004, Rudank fled to Syria, where he was arrested by the police in 2005.

In court, the perpetrator and the parents of the perpetrator and the victim refuse to testify. As the murderer was 20 years old at the time, the crime is tried by the juvenile division of the Lüneburg District Court. In November 2005, the court handed down its verdict: the perpetrator was sentenced to eight years in prison for the manslaughter of his own sister. It is said that Rudank was Fadia's favorite brother.

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.

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