Honour killing story: Cristina Holic (2009)

Cristina Holic
Born: 1986
Strangled: 28 June 2009
Residence: Althengstett / Schramberg (near Stuttgart)
Origin: Victim: Romania; Perpetrator: Turkey / Kurd
Children: probably none
Perpetrator: her ex-boyfriend Rüfet Carboga (aged 45 at the time of the crime)

Cristina is 18 when she moves in with 40-year-old Turk Rüfet, a kebab store owner who has been married 4 times. At 23, she breaks up with him and takes a job as a waitress.

On June 28, 2009, Rüfet strangles her and takes the body to a canola field, where it is found around midnight. The perpetrator flees to Italy via Switzerland in his brother's car. In mid-September he is arrested at a kebab stand in Turin. There he had been hiding with "compatriots" (presumably relatives). His escape lasted 78 days.

In July 2010, the perpetrator is sentenced to life imprisonment. As a motive is given that the woman was becoming increasingly independent and no longer wanted to submit to his will. In January 2011, the Federal Court of Justice rejected the appeal.

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.