Honour killing story: Mehtap Savasci (2014)

Mehtap Savasci
born: 1974
murdered: 7 October 2014
Location: Kassel
Origin: Turkey
Children: unclear, at least 1 daughter
Perpetrator: her brother Mehmet (50 years)

Mehtap Savasci comes from a Turkish family and was born in Germany. She works in the Integration Department of the Immigration Department in Kassel. On 7 October 2014, she is abducted early in the morning on her way to work. The neighbours see a fight. Later she reports sick to the voicemail of a colleague.

Her older brother is suspected of having something to do with the disappearance. He first lives in Offenbach and later moves to Maintal. The police found incriminating evidence about his van. He was arrested on 14 October. The police kept looking for Methap.

On 7 November one finds her body buried in an allotment garden in Wiesbaden, which was located via her brother's mobile phone data. The brother is in custody and is silent.

In October 2015 Mehmet will be sentenced to life imprisonment for murder by the regional court of Kassel. The court sees as a motive that the victim did not comply with the offender's ideas about "family and respect". The defence had admitted that he was involved in the murder, but that the evidence was too weak to convict.

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.