Investigation

Honour killing story: Hümeyra (2013)

Honour killing story

Hümeyra
born: 1983
Shot dead: 25 November 2013
Residence: Cologne
Origin: Turkey
Children: 2 (1 and 5 years)
Perpetrator: her husband Gürkan Sunman (33 years)
The marriage of Hümeyra and Gürkan is in crisis, possibly due to his extreme jealousy. There is talk of a divorce. Gürkan's profession is mentioned as a mechanic, hers as a housewife.

On 25 November 2013 Gürkan kills his wife with a placed head shot. He places the body between the stones on the banks of the Rhine in Cologne's Niehl district. At the time of the crime, the children are with their aunt. Then Gürkan takes them to Turkey.

The next day a captain sees the body from the water and calls the police. Since family members have reported Hümeyra missing, she is quickly identified.

Gürkan is wanted with an international arrest warrant.

A few days after the crime he travels back to Germany without the children. He is arrested on arrival at Cologne/Bonn airport. It is not clear whether he may already have been arrested in Turkey, whether he wanted to turn himself in or whether he was able to leave Turkey without any problems despite the international arrest warrant.

In July 20014 the trial starts at the Cologne Regional Court. In August, the verdict was pronounced: 10 years for manslaughter. For a conviction for murder, the chamber says, there is no motive. The children are staying with family in Turkey. The family of their mother's killer.

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.

Ralph Geissen

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