Honour killing story

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Patrick
born: 1987
stabbed to death: 18 June 2014
Residence: Neuenburg near Freiburg
Origin: Victim: Germany; perpetrator: Lebanon
Children: probably not
Perpetrator: Akram Y. (17 years), Kurdish Lebanese, possibly with his father Mustafa (48 years)
This case can be read as a civil guard right: A man rapes a woman. Her brother kills him in revenge.

This case can also be read as honour killing: The motive is not the retaliation for the rape, but that the perpetrator saw his honour and the honour of his family contaminated. Stained by the unlawful sexual intercourse of the woman - regardless of whether she was forced or not.

He absolutely wanted to restore this honour. Interesting detail: the perpetrator is 17 years old, so he is still subject to juvenile justice. In similar cases, the youngest of a family was already chosen to commit the murder.

In the act: Patrick is known to the police for capital crimes. On 12 June he (allegedly) raped a 26-year-old woman in Mühlheim (Baden-Württemberg). The two probably knew each other a little. She indicates the man. On June 18, an arrest warrant was issued. Patrick is on the run.

But the family of the rape victim becomes active itself. Via WhatsApp they lure Patrick to a parking space. It should be a drug deal. Akram, the brother of the raped woman, and Mustafa, the father of the two, are on the lookout for him. The 17-year-old brother of the victim stabs Patrick with a knife 23 times. He dies at the scene of the crime. Another friend of the family is present.

The three perpetrators have been arrested. Their statements contradict each other. The father is Lebanese, the younger offenders probably have a German passport.

It is also conceivable that the young woman was not raped at all, but had an affair with Patrick. Then her brother and father would see this as a violation of her honour (because Patrick is a German) and would only use the alleged rape as a pretext for the crime. Somewhat annoying is also the behaviour of the (presumably) raped woman. Via Facebook she sends a declaration of love to her brother on the day of the crime and also on the days after the crime.

The lawsuit will start in April 2015 at the District Court of Freiburg. In December, father and son are sentenced for murder: the father is sentenced to life imprisonment, the son to 8 years juvenile sentence. The young man who held the victim is sentenced to 5 years. Another accomplice who had arranged the meeting is given 2 years' probation. In the reasoning for the decision, the judge mentions the restoration of the family honour as a motive.

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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