Honour killing story

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Sekin Ö.
born: 1970
stabbed: 7 July 2008
Residence: Nuremberg
Origin: Turkey
Children: 3 sons
Perpetrator: her ex-husband Mithat Ö. (aged 39 at the time of the crime)
Sekin is a kitchen help at the Nuremberg exhibition center, her husband Mithat works as a warehouse manager. Because he is violent, she divorces in 2002. Six years after the divorce he asks her to return to him. At the same time, he himself has a new girlfriend. He is unemployed and lives in a social boarding house in Nuremberg.

On July 7, 2008, Mithat kills his ex-wife with seven knife stabs in their apartment. She bleeds to death. Then he first meets his girlfriend and then picks up the two ten-year-old twin sons with her. In front of his girlfriend and the children, he makes comments about his act. In court, the 45-year-old German girlfriend later testifies that she had not taken it seriously, because he had not been upset at all. The judge shows little understanding for this behavior.

Later, an anonymous caller - presumably Mithat himself - informs the police. Two days later he is arrested at the main police station in Würzburg.

In addition to the twins, the couple has an adult son. Even during the pregnancy there would have been severe beatings, later also death threats.

In court, Mithat is said to have dishonored his ex-wife after the crime. It would be the latest confirmation of his claim to power over his ex-wife's sexuality. He also robbed her of her money and bank card.

On March 18, 2010, Mithat was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Nuremberg-Fürth District Court. He had regarded his ex-wife as property and killed her because she rejected him, according to the reasoning of the sentence. The particular gravity of guilt was established. The defense announced an appeal.

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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