Honour killing story

Fatma
Born: 1974
Attempted murder: 11 March 2009
Residence: Wülfrath (near Wuppertal)
Origin: Turkey
Children: 5
Perpetrator: her divorced husband Saban (age 37 at the time of the crime)
Fatma and Saban were married by their parents in an arranged marriage. Saban insinuates that his wife is having an affair with his friend and beats her until she is hospitalized with injuries. In February 2009, she evicts him from their shared apartment in Wülfrath.

But presumably Saban still has a key. On March 11, 2009, he waits for her in the apartment and attacks her with a knife. Fatma is struck by deep stabs in her chest and abdomen, a ruptured liver and injuries to her lungs and gallbladder are the result. She flees to her sister-in-law, who lives in the same apartment complex. Emergency surgery saves her life.

The perpetrator also leaves the apartment after the crime. He calls the police and gets himself arrested without resistance. At this time, the five joint children are in school and kindergarten.

The trial begins in November 2009 at the district court in Wuppertal. The boss of the grinding shop where Saban works testifies that he had noticed the absenteeism and the money problems. In December, he was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for attempted manslaughter. As for motive, it says that Saban considered his wife his property. His male sense of honor was hurt, they say, because his wife was able to live an independent life without him.

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.

Sources:
  • There was an article about it at rp-online.de, which unfortunately is no longer online.
Posted in Attempted murder, Investigation and tagged , , , .