Investigation into 'murder for honor' of 34-year-old Afghan woman from Berlin

Maryam
Born: 1987
Murdered: July 13, 2021
Residence: Bavaria
Origin: Afghanistan
Children: 1 girl, 1 boy (9 and 13 years old at the time of the crime)
Perpetrators: her brothers Seyed and Sayed (22 and 25 years old)

On July 13, 2021, 2 Afghan brothers murdered their 34-year-old sister. She has been living with her two children in a refugee house in Berlin-Lichtenberg for about 2 years. Apparently there had been intimidations and threats before.

Sayed and Seyed brought their sister's body in a suitcase by train from Berlin to Bavaria, where the older brother lives. There she was buried in a hole in the ground. She was found in early August. Police analyzed the brothers' cell phone records. In addition, the wife of one of the perpetrators was caught up in contradictions during her interrogation.

The brothers are arrested in Berlin. They allegedly disliked the older sister's lifestyle, which included not wearing a headscarf outside the refugee house, putting on makeup and getting divorced - presumably from a forced marriage.

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.