Honour killing story: Kevser Kurt (1992)

Kevser Kurt
Born: 1963
murdered: August 9, 1992
Residence: Berlin
Origin: Turkey
Children: 1 son (age 12 at the time of the crime), 1 girl (age 9)
Perpetrator: So far there has been no trial. The then husband was questioned, but there was no strong suspicion against him.

In March 2007, Riza Kurt, a Turk, was questioned for several hours by Berlin police. He had reported his wife Kevser missing in August 1992 (i.e. 15 years ago). The homicide department had launched an investigation, but had not even found the body. The body only surfaced in May 2006 in Monbijou Park in Berlin. Despite decomposition, an unnatural death by "violence to the neck" was proven. The then 29-year-old had been strangled to death.

At 14, Kevser had married, at 17 she had had her first child, at 20 her second. Reportedly, Kevser had already taken refuge with her children in a shelter for women.

She then returned for the sake of her children. At the time of the crime, the divorce had already been filed. Kevser's body will be buried in Turkey in March 2007.

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.