Ahmad-Sobair O. in court in February. Photo: DPA

Man gets life after court rejects appeal for sister's 'honour killing'

Published: 26 Nov 09 14:02 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091126-23537.html

A German-Afghan man who stabbed his teenage sister to death in a grisly "honour killing" was sentenced to life imprisonment after a court in Karlsruhe rejected his appeal on Thursday.

In a crime that outraged Germany, the man, identified only as Ahmad-Sobair O. knifed his 16-year-old sister Morsal 23 times as he believed she brought dishonour to their family by wearing Western-style clothes and make-up.

The Federal Court of Justice said it was "convinced that the accused committed the crime because his sister, in his opinion, had 'stained the family's honour'."

The court rejected the appeal that the man was psychologically deranged and upheld the initial judgement by a lower court in Hamburg, in the north of the country.

The killer, aged 24 at the time, had said during his trial that he was "sorry from the bottom of his heart" for his actions. "That was my sister and I loved her," he told the court, breaking down in tears.

Germany has been shocked by around 50 so-called "honour killings" since 1996, mainly in the country's large Turkish diaspora.

AFP (news@thelocal.de)

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#1
14:18 November 26, 2009 by Portnoy
Rot in prison, buddy.
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#2
14:23 November 26, 2009 by Expaticus
What on Earth was his lawyer thinking ... one doesn't wear an M-1941 field jacket to an arraingment! He stabs his sister 23 times for dressing in western attire, but sees fit to show up in court wearing WWII-era US Army attire?

Is he some sort of Travis Bickle wannabe?
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#3
14:28 November 26, 2009 by Portnoy
It wasn't an arraignment it was an appeal.
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#4
18:56 November 26, 2009 by Jibzy
Well i'm glad the court didnt spare him of the life sentence. Coming from a Muslim society myself, i have to confess that the people in those societies are very emotional. And its about time that they control their emotions. It should not be acceptable as it is in those societies.
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#5
19:29 November 26, 2009 by wood artist
It is always sad when the value systems of different cultures collide. However, no differences in values can justify this type of action...EVER. Regardless of his motivation, he knowingly took a life and needs to pay the penalty for doing so. That it was someone supposedly dear to him only makes the crime more reprehensible.
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#6
23:45 November 26, 2009 by Fredfeldman
Not only is this guy guilty and fully deserving a life sentence but the culture that produced his actions also deserves to be officially denounced.
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#7
00:20 November 27, 2009 by Jibzy
@Fredfeldman

By saying this, you are no different from him in one way. He killed her because he didnt like the different idealogy. And you're saying/promoting the same thing. What do you obtain by hating others my friend? Live in peace...it is a lot more relaxing.
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#8
10:06 November 27, 2009 by Celeon
Its hard to describe the disgust i feel for him and his family when im looking at the photo of this guy.
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#9
18:38 November 27, 2009 by Cincinnatus
@Jibzy - One man murdered his sister, in the name of his God, for dishonoring his family. Another man says that the "culture" that produced this murderer should be criticized. Then YOU declare that two actions are EQUAL, "... no different from him in one way. He killed her because he didnt like the different idealogy. And you're saying/promoting the same thing. What do you obtain by hating others my friend? Live in peace...it is a lot more relaxing." It may RELAX you to give these two actions a MORAL EQUIVALENCY. It does NOT relax me. I just hope there are not many of your kind out there. Of course, I mean that in a loving and relaxed way.
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#10
21:42 November 27, 2009 by jacqueShellaque
For one who got caught, many go unpunished. This one is the exception, not only in Islamic countries, but in the West as well, all the direct result of that misogynistic, oppressive, self-righteous, violent, thought-destroying, mob-mentality ideology that passes itself for a religion. Eventually, we will need to tackle it before it destroys us, and this must be done on the ideological front. We must engage it in discussion in order to destroy it. I just love to see Islamic proponents squirm and obviate in properly-refereed debates, afraid to answer because they know their response is humanly unacceptable or, at the opposite, reply with some laughingly blithe statement revealing the unsavoury true nature of Muslim thinking. Only when Islam is exposed in all its horrific reality will our democratic societies reach the tipping point and make the necessary choices to preserve themselves, like restricting Muslim immigration to those who are willing to accept individual freedoms.
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#11
16:35 November 28, 2009 by YankeeT
I'm breathing a sigh of relief that there is a court in the world that is doing the right thing and is not swayed by Political Correctness.

The U.S. can learn a lot from the courage shown by the Justice System in Germany which has displayed common sense instead of bowing down to this monster. His lawyer had an obligation to vigorously defend their client and kudos to them for being able to stomach the job, I couldn't do it.

The mindset of anyone involved in ordering, planning, or carrying out an "honor killing" is aberrant and intolerable. The practice is disgusting and wrong in any light.

Anyone who cries 'intolerance' or 'discrimination' when cultures clash, remember this; To be indiscriminate means you are a whore.

and

Mature, intelligent people have every right to tolerate or not to tolerate aberrant behavior. Children do not discriminate until they develop personal likes and dislikes and are mature enough to make their own choices.
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#12
14:28 November 29, 2009 by vprice
to Jibzy:

Any man with a conscience, like this one I presume, who is raised in a culture that demands "justice" for violations of family honor is in an impossible situation. His conscience tells him that to kill another human being is wrong but his culture commands him to kill even his sister if she allegedly violates family honor. The real guilty entity in this case is, in fact, the Islamic culture. The man's is totally trapped in a culture that squashes his conscience, leaving him to rot in jail for the rest of his life and grieve for the sister I think he loved. No doubt, he is wondering what the hell happened. The solution is to reform the culture. Hopefully, that will occur before the clash between that culture and and the rest of us who find Islamic values totally barbaric escalates into a world holocaust. At the moment, we appear headed there, sadly.
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#13
18:22 November 30, 2009 by mossmusic
Honour Killing my left cheek. I hope the guy rots in Jail! I hope his new boys "Bjorn" makes him nice and warm! LOL
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