Honour killing story: Nejla B.(2012)

Nejla B.
born: 1984
stabbed to death: June 3, 2012
Residence: Schwäbisch Gmünd
Origin: Turkey
Children: 2 sons (4+7 years)
Perpetrator: her divorced husband Hamdi (31 years)

The marriage of Nejla and Hamdi is violent, the police in Schwäbisch Hall know that. She flees once to a women's shelter, he gets a warning from the police. At the beginning of 2012 Nejla divorces her unemployed husband and moves with her two sons to Schwäbisch-Gmünd. Guardianship is shared.

Probably she will let Hamdi into her apartment on June 3, 2012 anyway. There may be a friend present to warn Nejla. Hamdi cuts his wife's throat and then calls the police. The children (who may have witnessed the crime) are first placed under the care of youth welfare, later in a foster family.

In December 2012 Hamdi is sentenced to almost 13 years imprisonment for murder by the court of Ellwangen.

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.