Honour killings claim 1 200

2006-03-03 21:03

Ankara - Honour killings and blood feuds have claimed 1 190 lives in Turkey in the past six years, despite tougher penalties for such crimes, say police on Friday.

Police said that the figures showed that most of the victims and suspected perpetrators were from the country's mainly Kurdish east and southeast, where the practice of killing to clear one's honour was still widespread among the largely feudal population.

Of the victims, 710 were male and 480 female, but the proportion of men who were suspects in murders was far higher at 1 413 men to just 180 women.

The statement said the most common motive - found in 29% of murders - was to cleanse honour - without detailing the other categories.

Honour killings

The government and civic groups had in recent years stepped up efforts to stamp out honour killings, but opinion polls had shown they enjoyed considerable support among the population.

A survey published in October found 37% of people in Diyarbakir, the main city of the predominantly Kurdish southeast, believed that a woman who had an extra-marital affair should be killed. Only 16% said she should not be punished.

In some cases, relatives convened a so-called family council and tasked a clan member to murder a female relative accused of staining their honour, usually by having an affair outside marriage.

The custom had gone as far as killing women for talking to strange men or requesting a song on the radio.

Penalties for perpetrators

Turkey, under European Union pressure to improve the rights of women, had toughened penalties for perpetrators of honour killings, now punishable by life in prison.

Blood feuds were triggered by various hostilities, including unpaid debts, land disputes and abductions of women.

An analysis of the male suspects involved in the murders showed that the highest number of them - 22% - were aged between 19 and 25.

The police statement said the number of boys aged under 18 was high enough to "draw attention", but didn't give a figure.

Underage boys were often tasked by families to carry out the honour killings because of lighter sentences envisaged in the law.

The highest number of slain women - 20% - came from the 19-25 age group, while the highest number of male victims, also at 20%, were aged over 46.

- AFP