Honour killing story: Bahar Erdogan and her unborn daughter (2013)

Bahar Erdogan and her unborn daughter
born: 1990
stabbed: 19 January 2013
Residence: Bretten (near Karlsruhe)
Origin: Turkey
Children: 1 son and 1 unborn daughter
Perpetrator: her soon-to-be-husband Erdal Tunc (23 years)

Bahar and Erdal have a son together. Bahar is pregnant again. The wedding is about to take place. But she's divorcing because he beats her.

On 19 January 2013, the builder stabs his almost wife with a kitchen knife. A neighbour finds her badly injured in the stairwell and calls the police.

In the hospital the child is born, but she dies. Only a week after the deed, the mother also dies. The 9-month-old son is with his grandparents at the time of the crime, wherever he resides.

Two months later, the perpetrator and his family are arrested in Marseille and extradited to Germany.

In October 2013 the trial will start at the regional court of Karlsruhe. In November Erdal is sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.

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.