Honour killing story: Mira (2019)

Mira
born: 2003
Assassin ordered: September 8, 2019
Location: Hannover
Origin: Iraq / Kurds / Yazidi
Children: no
Perpetrator: her brother (24 years old at the time of the crime)

Mira's family will come from Iraq to Germany in 2014. When she is 15 years old, she will marry a cousin unknown to her. In March 2019 the "engagement" with the 23-year-old is announced.

A lawsuit in connection with rape follows, which ends with a conviction of the "fiancée" for assault. As a result, Mira's parents lock her up and abuse her. At the same time, she lives in a youth protection institution and from June 2019 she will live at a secret address.

The 24-year-old brother will condemn her behavior. He hires a 37-year-old assassin at Nuremberg's main train station who receives 1500 euros for the murder of his sister (with 6 or 7 stab wounds). The assassin, who lived in Germany for 30 years on the basis of a tolerance sentence, goes to the police.

In January 2020, Mira's brother is acquitted by the Court of Nuremberg Freth of the charge of arranging a contract killing. He is given a suspended sentence for assaulting his sister. Lawsuits are still pending against the fiancée's mother and Mira's parents for forced marriages. Mira is not the real name of the woman.

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.