I killed my sister, says brother

2005-09-14 14:35

Berlin - The youngest of three Turkish brothers charged with murdering their sister in a so-called honour killing admitted on Wednesday that he pulled the trigger, but insisted he acted alone as the trial opened in a Berlin state court.

Hatun Surucu, a 25-year-old divorced mother, was killed by three shots to her head in February on a Berlin street near her home in a case that outraged Germans and brought to light the problem of honour killings and forced marriages among the nation's Turkish population of 2.6 million.

According to prosecutors, Surucu's brothers lured her to the bus stop with the intent of killing her because they were ashamed of her Western lifestyle.

Great after violent incident

"I killed my sister," Ayhan Surucu, 19, told the court in a statement read by his attorney on Wednesday. He said he regretted the act and insisted that his two older brothers were not involved.

Both older brothers Mutlu Surucu, 26, who has German citizenship and Alpaslan Surucu, 24, a Turkish citizen like his younger brother, pleaded not guilty, saying they had nothing to do with the crime.

All three face charges of second-degree murder. If found guilty, the older brothers could receive sentences of up to life in prison, while the youngest, who is being tried as a juvenile, faces up to 10 years.

Surucu was a German citizen, born and raised in Berlin. In 1998, she was forced to return to Turkey to marry a cousin. A year later she gave birth to a son in Berlin and refused to return with her husband to Turkey, prosecutors said.

She and her son then moved out of her parents' home - against their will - and Surucu continued her studies, entering an apprenticeship as an electrician, prosecutors said.

- AP