Honour killing story: Seda (2019)

Seda
born: 1987
Attempted murder: June 22, 2019
Location: Gelsenkirchen
Origin: Turkey
Children: 1 daughter, 1 son (9 and 11 years)
Perpetrator: Faruk B. (43 years)

Seda is a fitness trainer from Gelsenkirchen, divorced, 2 children Faruk is married and has 4 children. For unknown reason he has been stalking Seda since 2017, probably because of a rejected love. There are several accusations against him.

On 22 June 2019 Seda sees him at the door in Gelsenkirchen-Buer. She calls the police, who handle the charges and carry out a threat analysis. Faruk is sent away, but comes back 30 minutes later and stabs Seda at her front door. She is taken to the hospital with serious injuries, a few days later her condition is still critical.

The perpetrator was arrested near the crime scene, he still has the knife with him. The children go to their father, Seda's ex-husband. There is also an indication that Seda's new fiancée lives in Turkey.

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.