Attempted Honor Killing in Heilbronn, Germany

Karim
Age: -
Attempted Murder: December 18, 2024
Residence: Heilbronn
Origin: Unknown
Perpetrators: Brothers of his wife

In December 2024, Karim in Heilbronn became the victim of a brutal attack by his two brothers-in-law.

On December 18, the two Kurdish brothers broke into their sister’s home, who was pregnant at the time. In front of the minor children, they beat and stabbed their brother-in-law with a knife and a key. Karim sustained severe injuries and was later hospitalized with acute kidney failure.

According to the prosecutor, the motive was wounded family honor. Karim allegedly made derogatory remarks about her family during a quarrel with his wife. One day before the attack, the youngest brother had already destroyed Karim’s car with a baseball bat.

In court, the brothers admitted to the assault but denied that they intended to kill their brother-in-law. They claimed that they had been attacked by Karim themselves. The prosecutor demanded multi-year prison sentences for attempted murder, while the defense pleaded for suspended sentences.

During the trial, the brothers tried to offer Karim money as compensation – first €20,000, later a reduced offer of €5,000. Karim rejected both proposals.

Karim is not the real name of the victim.

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.