Honour killing story: Sala and Rada (2020)

Sala and Rada
born: 1977, 2000
Attempted murder: 4 January 2020
Location: Bretzfeld (near Heilbronn)
Origin: Syria
Children: 1 other son (12 years old at the time of the crime)
Perpetrator: her ex-husband (44 years)

Sala has at least 2 children, a 12 year old son and a 19 year old daughter. On 4 January 2020, her ex-husband kicks in the front door of her flat and attacks her with a knife. The daughter stands in between and is seriously injured. The son intervenes, the father flees. Shortly afterwards he is arrested. He is in the police system because of "various offences". There have been police raids on the family.

The mother arrives slightly injured in hospital, the daughter seriously injured. The real names are not known. Only the perpetrator has been identified as coming from Syria. It can be assumed that the family has been living in Germany for several years. It is still unclear if there are any more children.

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.