Honour killing story: Fitore P. (2020)

Fitore P.
born: 1987
shot: 7/8 February 2020
Location: Landau
Origin: Kosovo
Children: 2 (7 and 9 years old at the crime)
Perpetrator: her ex-boyfriend Astrit P. (32 years old at the crime)

During a traffic control in the district of Germersheim (Rhineland-Palatinate), the police find one dead at night on 8 February 2020. She has gunshot wounds and is lying on the co-driver's seat, the driver is carrying a firearm. He is the ex-boyfriend of the dead woman and is arrested.

Later it appears that Astrit comes from Kosovo and has a criminal record for assault and robbery. He was deported several times, but always came back secretly. Fitore and the two children of elementary school age had a residence permit. She was probably shot just before the police check.

In July 2020 the trial will start at the regional court of Landau. The public prosecutor considers honor as the motive. Witnesses state that Astrit was a control freak. In addition, he probably mentioned honour motives in his testimony to the magistrate.

In September, the perpetrator is sentenced to life imprisonment.

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.