Honour killing story: Filiz Cekic (2014)

Filiz Cekic
born: 1973
Stabbed to death: 24 July 2014
Location: Wuppertal
Origin: Turkey
Children: 2 daughters (11 and 14 years)
Perpetrator: her ex-husband Murat (42 years)

Filiz was born in Germany and has a German passport. She marries Murat in Turkey. They have 2 daughters and were divorced in the spring of 2014.

A few weeks later Murat drives to his ex-wife. It comes to an argument. He stabs her.

Neighbors call the police, but Filiz bleeds to death in the hospital. Murat is arrested in the apartment.

The two daughters are at the time of the crime with friends at summer camp.

In January 2015, the trial will start in the court of Wuppertal. Later, Murat will probably be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

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.