Honour killing story

Morsal Obeidi
born: 1991
stabbed to death: May 15/16, 2008
Residence: Hamburg
Origin: Afghanistan
Children: none
Perpetrator: her at the time of the crime 23-year-old brother Ahamad-Sobair Obeidi (who has been living in Germany for 15 years and has had German citizenship for 5 years)
On the night of May 15-16, 2008, German-Afghan Ahamad stabbed his 16-year-old sister in downtown Hamburg. After twenty stabs, he fled and left the girl bleeding to death in a parking lot. He is arrested at noon the next day. As the reason for the crime, the alleged car dealer explains that his sister had lived differently than the family wished.

Morsal had previously sought help from social services several times because she was mistreated by her brother and father. The family had come to Hamburg in 1993 after probably living in Ukraine for three years. The father Ghulam-Mohamad was a fighter pilot in the Afghan army, worked in Germany as a bus driver until he lost his driver's license due to drunkenness.

Once Morsal Ahamad had to appear for aggravated assault, but then refused to testify in court, so he was acquitted. However, he already has a criminal record for several fights and is considered a frequent offender.

Ahamad was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder on February 13, 2009. When the sentence was pronounced, there is unrest because the family does not want to accept the sentence. The defendant also screams. The defense appeals. In November 2009, the Federal Court of Justice upholds the verdict. It remains unclear whether two other cousins were involved in the crime.

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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