Honor Killing in Bremen: Brother Admits to Stabbing Sister in Name of Honor

A whine is heard on the line. “I just killed my sister,” the caller said. “Do you understand?” Another bet. Then the man on the phone tells the police his full name again and tells the way to the crime scene – his sister’s apartment in Bremen. The Bremen regional court plays the audio recording at the beginning of the trial, and at first the accused does not comment on the murder charge.

So the court tries to recreate the crime. The burden of evidence is overwhelming: the recording of the emergency call, photographs of the accused’s hands covered in blood and a bent knife, two handwritten publications and finally the description of several police officers from the scene of the crime. The public prosecutor accuses the 24-year-old of not agreeing with his sister’s lifestyle. One picture shows a small woman with a royal blue headscarf. According to the allegations, he is said to have wanted to restore his dignity on her 23rd birthday.

The perpetrator had already put his bag in jail

It was December 9, close to midnight, when the Somali man stood in front of his sister’s apartment, according to the prosecutors. The 23-year-old opened the door for him and let him into her room. He then allegedly stabbed the upper body several times with a kitchen knife. According to the prosecution, two stab wounds entered her body; she was injured in her heart and lungs and lost a lot of blood.

According to police records, it only took a minute after the emergency call for the first patrol to arrive at the scene. A police officer told the court that he entered the apartment building with his colleague. The door to the apartment on the top floor was open and the accused fell to his knees when he saw it and still held his hands up. There was blood on his fingers and also on black clothes. He started talking to himself: that he had done something to his sister, that he had used a kitchen knife – and that he had already put a bag in prison as a warning.

Testimony: “That was crazy”

The police officer reports that he immediately went to his sister’s room. She was lying on her back on her bed in pink pajamas with the kitchen knife completely bent underneath. “I spoke to her, but there was no response,” said the police officer. He no longer felt a pulse and could not detect any breathing, but her body was still warm. He fought for her life until rescuers took over. But there was nothing more they could do for the birthday child.

His police colleague remembers the night four months ago. » I have seen many bodies in my life, people have also died in my arms. But like her – that was crazy,” the 28-year-old woman said in court. The accused admitted to her without emotion that he said he stabbed his sister in the name of honor. “It’s not an everyday activity this, you don’t see it often.”

“I can live without a future, but not without dignity”

When asked, the police do not know how often such crime occurs. Statistically, activities are not classified according to ideas of honor or religious affiliation. However, these murders “are often committed in an environment in which people live according to traditional, patriarchal gender roles,” said the police.

At the start of the trial, the presiding judge read two handwritten notes found in the defendant’s apartment. “My sister is trying to be a slut,” written on one of the pages. And later: “I can live without a future, but not without honor.” The 24-year-old remains silent in court, blowing his nose once. His lawyer announced that he could speak at the next hearing in early May. His state of mind will play an important role in the proceedings; alcohol was not tested. A decision could come at the end of May.