Honour killing story: Raghad Kabawa (2019)

Raghad Kabawa
born: unclear
stabbed: December 6, 2019
Residence: Osnabrück
Origin: Syria
Children: 1 daughter, 1 son
Perpetrator: her ex-boyfriend Darda K. (27 years old at the time of the crime)

Raghad comes to Germany with the wave of refugees in 2015. She has 2 children whose father is dead. She meets the Syrian Darda, who doesn't move in with her, but often stays overnight. Nevertheless, they will get a divorce. The address in Osnabrück-Dodesheide is known to the police because of a deployment.

Darda threatens her, scares the family of Raghad in the Whatsapp group "Syrians in Osnabrück". It's about pictures without headscarf, travel, driver's license.

On Saint Nicholas Day 2019 Raghad packs her things to flee with the children to the women's shelter. Darda visits her and stabs her 22 times. She dies in the hospital. The perpetrator is arrested. The two children go to the house of an aunt. They are of school age.

In May 2020 the trial will start at the District Court of Osnabrück.

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.