Honour killing story: Murat (2014)

Murat
born: 1994
Attempted murder: 13 October 2014
Location: Düsseldorf
Origin: Turkey
Children: unclear
Perpetrator: Eyüp Tolga Sasunlu (22 years)

Murat is married, but divorced and has a relationship with another woman. Her brother Eyüb Tolga considers this a violation of family honour. At a bus stop he hits a knife in the stomach of his sister friend. The victim goes to the ground, Eyüp keeps entering Murat.

If Eyüp thinks Murat is dead, he flees.

Murat comes to a clinic, is operated on and survives. The perpetrator is arrested a few days later in a family home in Nettetal. He had already prepared his escape to Turkey.

The process starts in March 2015. The Public Prosecutor's Office is talking about an attempt at honour killings. The suspect is silent. Probably he was noticed by the police in the past.

Murat is not the real name of the victim.

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.