Brothers convicted of ‘honour killing’

A TURKISH court yesterday convicted two brothers for the “honour killing” of their sister and sentenced one to life in prison and the other to more than 11 years behind bars.

Guldunya Toren was shot dead in her hospital bed last year, where she was recovering from an earlier attack by her brothers. The brothers were accused of killing Toren, who was 22, to punish her for having a child out of wedlock.

Toren has become a symbol of Turkey’s struggle to stem the practice of honour killings and human rights groups have been watching the case closely.

In an effort to combat the practice Turkey, which is vying for EU membership, has overhauled its criminal code to hand down severe punishments to family members who kill, force or encourage another member to kill a relative believed to have disgraced the family.

Families often assign the task to a teenage member of the family, because of lighter sentences handed down to minors. In the past, perpetrators were also able to escape with lighter punishments if they could prove that they were “provoked.”

The court yesterday sentenced Irfan Toren to life in prison. His younger brother, identified only as FT because he was a minor at the time of the killing, was given a sentence of 11 years and eight months, the Anatolia news agency and other media reported. A third brother is still on the run.

Dozens of women are killed by relatives in Turkey each year for allegedly disgracing the family, some for as little as being seen speaking to men. Experts say the practice is on the rise as more families leave conservative villages for the cities, where young women aspire to a more liberal lifestyle.

The killings also occur in Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries, and among immigrant families in Britain and Sweden.