Honour killing story: Heba A. (2019)

Heba A.
born: 1997
stabbed: 23 January 2019
Residence: Altenstadt an der Waldnaab (Oberpfalz)
Origin: Syria
Children: 2 (6 months and 4 years at that time)
Perpetrator: her partner Bandar S. (27 years)

Heba has her first child at the age of 18, they live in Germany since 2017. There she will have another child, who is 6 months old.

On January 23, 2019 she is stabbed to death in her apartment. Around 3 o'clock the police is called. The rescue service cannot bring Heba back to life. She dies in the stairwell.

The children were in the apartment at the time of the crime. Heba's partner Bandar has been arrested. Reportedly, he works in a glazier's workshop and has been in Germany since 2015. In court, an "integration helper" will later praise his helpfulness.

The two children are placed in the shelter of the youth care. Both the victim and the perpetrator have a temporary residence permit. It is not clear if Bandar is also the father of the children (probably the youngest).

In January 2019, the offender will be sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for manslaughter by the Court of Meadows.

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.