Honour killing story: Hafida R. (2014)

Hafida R.
born: 1970
murdered: about 10 August 2014
Residence: Munich
Origin: Victim: Morocco; perpetrator: Iran
Children: 2 (3 and 7 years)
Perpetrator: her husband Abbas-Ali Rahat-Farimani (62 years)

Hafida has been married for 7 years to Abbas, who is 15 years older and works as a guard. The couple has 2 children.

The family will probably go on holiday on 10 August 2014. Abbas-Ali stabs his wife and flees with the two children.

If Hafida doesn't respond for three weeks, her sister will call the police. The officers break open the door and find the body in a pool of blood on September 2. Probably she had been there for three weeks. The balcony is full of flies. The door was sealed with rubber to prevent the smell of decomposition from spreading. So the crime was planned. This is also indicated by the fact that the perpetrator sold the car for the alleged holiday.

In previous years, Hafida had called the police at least twice for domestic violence. Once she moved to the women's shelter. Neighbours also describe the father as violent, especially towards his 7-year-old daughter. He did nothing with his son, they say, he only hated women. The perpetrator is still a fugitive today. Where the children are is unclear.

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.