Honour killing story: Julka (2019)

Julka
born: 1964
Attempted murder: 5 August 2019
Location: Delmenhorst (near Bremen)
Origin: Serbia
Children: 3 daughters, 1 son
Perpetrator: her divorced husband (57 years in crime)

Julka comes in 1993 from Serbia to Germany with her husband and 2 daughters. She lives in Delmenhorst and has another daughter and a son. They are getting a divorce, allegedly because it would be beneficial for granting asylum. Possibly it has something to do with the husband's criminal record. In any case, he is going back to Serbia. He is trained as an electrician, but probably lives from petty crime.

On August 5, he stabs a knife in her throat. Then he reported himself to the police.

In January 2020, the Oldenburg District Court sentences the perpetrator to 7 years imprisonment for attempted manslaughter and inflicting grievous bodily harm. It becomes known that there is a long history of violence against the wife and daughters.

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.