Honour killing story

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Narun C.
born 1966
shot dead: 9 March 2009
Residence: Gifhorn (Lower Saxony)
Origin: Turkey
Children: 1 daughter, 1 son (aged 14 and 20 at the time of the crime)
Perpetrator: her husband Mehmet (at the time of the crime 45 years old)
In 1987, Mehmet and Narun marry in Turkey. He takes her to Germany and keeps her isolated. He cuts her off from the outside world, as the son says later in court. Narun does not learn German and does not work. He works at an auto supplier in shifts.

Mehmet harasses and abuses his wife until she flees to a women's shelter with both her children for several weeks in 2003. Divorce is probably out of the question for both of them for reasons of family honor.

Mehmet has mistresses again and again. In the summer of 2008, he books a vacation to Turkey, but cancels the return tickets for mother and daughter. The son will later say in court that he wanted to deport them in this way. He quotes his father as saying, "Either I send her to Turkey or I have to commit an honor killing."

Because Mehmet had fallen in love with a Romanian (or Bulgarian) prostitute, whom he supports financially. The 14-year-old daughter even testified later that he had already bought an apartment with her. Where he got the money from is unclear.

Supposedly, his wife is getting in the way of this new "relationship." Moreover, Mehmet believes that his wife has "changed" into a Kurd, which would further tarnish his honor. On March 9, 2009, he shoots Narun several times in the nursery. She dies in the hospital. He flees to family in Hanover, where he is later arrested.

In August 2009, the trial begins in the district court of Hildesheim. The prosecutor explicitly speaks of honor killing. Mehmet confesses the crime emotionlessly, speaks of an accident and claims to suffer from amnesia. His marriage had gone well, the affair was just an "other side".

In September, he is sentenced to life in prison for murder.

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:

Questions about honour killings

  • 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.

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