Honour killing story: Fatima T. (2019)

Fatima T.
born: 1975
shot: May 9, 2019
Residence: Offenbach
Origin: Morocco
Children: at least 1 son (13 years at that time)
Perpetrator: Mohammed Soultana (42 years), the boyfriend of her sister

On May 9, 2019, Mohammed Soultana shoots a German-Moroccan woman from a driving rental car, while waiting for her son in front of a fighting school. The woman is sitting in a Porsche. There is only one shot, it hits her in the neckline. Fatima gets out and collapses. Her son has to witness her suffering. The man (and the father of the son) is there too. Fatima dies in the ambulance.

A manhunt has started. The parked rental car has been found. In Belgium Mohammed's trail is lost. The perpetrator must have made threats before. Fatima's family gets police protection. The family's lawyer describes the perpetrator as an acquaintance of the family, "a Moroccan with sick motives, who thinks he can rule the world and the women as he wants".

Middle of June Mohammed surrenders to the police in Offenbach. His flight lasted 41 days. He was probably involved in a relationship with the victim's sister. Maybe the sister wanted a divorce and Fatima supported her. In this way, the perpetrator would not only assert his claim to power against his partner, but also against her family.

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.