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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

"Honor": Uncle murders abused teen in Jordan

From the Jordan Times:
Criminal Prosecutor Ashraf Abdullah on Tuesday charged a 39-year-old man with the premeditated murder of his niece in the latest so-called honour crime to take place in Jordan.

The 16-year-old victim, who was not identified by officials, was shot nine times in the head and back, allegedly by her uncle, at her home in an Amman neighbourhood.

Upon questioning, the uncle told the police that he killed his “niece to cleanse his family’s honour,” the source added.

A second source told The Jordan Times that the girl was a victim of incestuous rape by two of her relatives almost 11 months ago and became pregnant.

“The victim delivered a baby boy almost two months ago with the knowledge of her father who took her to the hospital and supported her since she was a rape victim,” the source said.

But four days ago, the uncle “claimed that he learned of the incident and decided to kill her in the name of family honour,” the source added.

The victim became the 14th person reportedly murdered in a so-called honour crime since the beginning of the year.

To normal people, "family honor" would mean punishing the members of the family that raped the girl, not the girl herself.