Ref: 78/2008
Date: 31 August 2008
Time: 12:00 GMT
Girl Murdered by Relatives in Khan
Yunis to “Maintain Family Honor”
PCHR strongly condemns the murder of a girl in Khan Yunis
allegedly to maintain “the honor” of her family. PCHR calls for the
perpetrators of all so called ‘Honour Crimes’ to be rigorously
prosecuted, and for appropriate legal action to be taken in order to end
such crimes.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at
approximately 09:00 on Saturday, 30 August 2008, Hussein Mustafa Kaware’,
67, from Jourat al-Lout area in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan
Yunis, went to a police station in the town and confessed murdering his
24-year-old daughter, Hala, and burying her in land belonging to the
family. Immediately, the police moved to the area and took the body out.
The girl’s hands and feet were tied and her mouth was muzzled. The body
was evacuated to Nasser Hospital in the town and from their to the
forensic medicine department at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. According
to police sources, the father confessed murdering his daughter “to
maintain the honor of his family.” The police also arrested 4 of his
sons.
This crime has been the second of its kind since the
beginning of 2008, as a woman was killed by her relatives in Rafah on 3
June.
According to PCHR’s documentation, in 2006 and 2007, 28 Palestinian
women were killed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) in this
context, including 22 ones in the Gaza Strip.
PCHR strongly condemns this crime, and:
1)
Calls for an immediate
investigation into the circumstances of Hala Kaware’s death, and for the
perpetrators to be brought to justice.
2)
Expresses utmost concern
over the recurrence of women being murdered in order to “maintain family
honor” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), since the
perpetrators of such crimes enjoy virtual immunity as they are sentenced
to short periods of imprisonment, usually not exceeding 3 civil years
(24 months in custody).
3)
Calls for severe penalties
against the perpetrators of such crimes as a deterrent, for so-called
Honor Crimes to be considered like any other willful killings, and for
strict adherence to the appropriate provisions of the law and
international human rights standards; to date perpetrators of so-called
Honor Crimes have received extremely light sentences.
