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Honor Killing Case

Brothers of Slain Turkish Woman to Be Retried

Two brothers of a Turkish woman murdered in Germany in an honor killing have been ordered to be retried on charges of accessory to murder in the 2005 incident. There are suspicions that her youngest brother, who was convicted of the crime, did not act alone.

A German court has ordered the reopening of the trial of two Turkish immigrants who were acquitted of charges related to the honor killing of their sister, who apparently led a lifestyle that was too Western for her conservative siblings.

Germany's Federal Court of Justice in Leipzig on Tuesday ordered the 26- and 28-year-old brothers of Hatun Sürücü to be retried. Sürücü's youngest brother, who was 18 at the time, was convicted of shooting and killing the 23-year-old single mother.

Ayhan Sürücü confessed to having killed his sister because he disapproved of her lifestyle. A court convicted Sürücü and sentenced him to nine years and three months in prison.

The murder shocked Germans and led to an angry national debate about the integration of Muslims living in Germany. The case even led to the creation of a national campaign in German to prevent honor killings under the slogan: "Honor is protecting my sister's freedom."

Though three of Sürücü's brothers were believed to have been involved in the case, only the brother who carried out the shooting was convicted. But now the court is saying that testimony from his former girlfriend, Melek A., was not given serious enough consideration by the previous court.

During the first trial, Melek A. testified that the killer had told her that both brothers were involved. The court, however, didn't believe that her testimony was reliable enough to base a ruling on it, dismissing it as hearsay, and both brothers were acquitted.

Melek A. is now living in a secret location as part of a witness protection program.

dsl/dpa