Honour killing story

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Hadeel Alharthi
born: 2002
stabbed to death: 2021
Residence: Saudi Arabia
Children: -
Perpetrator: her brother Abdullah Al Harthi
The 19-year-old Hadeel Alharthi was allegedly killed by her brother Abdullah Al Harthi with 6 knife stabs because Hadeel had a public account on TikTok and chose to live a free life.

Her family chose to protect her brother and not file charges against him with Saudi authorities. Abdullah Al Harthi also claims to be "mentally unstable." Combined with antique "god-inspired" legislation, this ensures that he will get away with it without any punishment.

As with Qamar's case, the reactions on Twitter show a picture of a population fed up with authorities treating murderers of women with leniency and grace, while "whistleblowers" in honor killings who are simply standing up for justice are treated ruthlessly and cruelly by the authorities.

Human rights activists in Saudi Arabia are particularly pessimistic when it comes to getting justice for victims of honor killings such as Hadeel Alharthi, Qamar and many others.

Our expectation is that Saudi Arabia as an arch-conservative country will be the last country in the world to bring its laws and regulations in line with international law.

We look forward to receiving any information!

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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