Honour killing story: Gönül (Gülcan) Karabey (2005)

Gönül (Gülcan) Karabey
Born: 1985
shot dead: 13 June 2005
Residence: Dotzheim/Wiesbaden
Origin: Turkey
Children: none
Perpetrator: her oldest brother Ali (24 years old at the time of the crime), came to Germany when he was 11 years old, German citizen since 2005

Gönül (in some reports she is called Gülcan) Karabey was born in Turkey and came to Germany at the age of six. At the age of 16 she is married off at the Turkish consulate. Later, the Turkish husband leaves for Italy, so the marriage cannot be dissolved.

At the age of 20, Gönül falls in love with a 28-year-old German. At first, her parents do not seem to mind. Later they disown their daughter. There are witness statements showing that Gönül was afraid that her parents wanted to force her to marry again in Berlin. Her brother Ali asks her to talk about it.

Since Gülcan is temporarily staying at the garden house of her German fiancé's family, she invites him there. Her fiancé waits nearby, hoping for a conciliatory outcome.

But after drinking coffee, 24-year-old Ali shoots his sister. Although he himself has a German passport, he is against her relationship with a German.

Late in the evening, he turns himself in to the police after hearing on the radio that he is wanted. Ali Karabey has a criminal record for assault. In September 2006, he was sentenced to life imprisonment (without special seriousness of guilt).

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.