Honour killing story: Murssal A. (2013)

Murssal A.
born: 1989
strangled: 27 December 2013
Residence: Frankfurt/M.
Origin: Afghanistan
Children: probably none
Perpetrator: her father Abdul A. (47 years)

Murssal lives in Frankfurt, has two sisters and is considered well integrated. However, the parents hardly speak German. The family has been in Germany for several years.

Murssal's father Abdul is looking for a man to marry her in Afghanistan. She should live there too. Her father, who works as a janitor in Frankfurt, pays a dowry.

But Murssal refuses to marry the man she does not know and to move to Afghanistan. On December 27, 2013, her father strangled her and left for Afghanistan.

Neighbors call the police. The cops find the corpse on a chair, hands tied, mouth taped. There are other family members at the crime scene. It is unknown whether they will be investigated later.

Apparently, the father photographed the body. Because in Afghanistan he shows the photos to the families to prove that he has restored his family honour. He probably also gets his dowry back.

An international arrest warrant will be issued.

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.