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Jordan: Woman killed for marrying without permission

Source: 
The Vancouver Sun
A man has been charged with shooting dead his pregnant sister for marrying without family permission, after luring her to another brother's wedding in a conspiracy with him, police said on Thursday.
"The 30-year-old suspect shot his 23-year-old pregnant sister, who worked as a nurse, four times in the head and other parts of her body Wednesday, while she was attending the wedding of another brother," a police spokesman told AFP.
"The mother of a baby boy got married two years ago without the family's permission after she ran away from home" in Madaba, south of the capital Amman, he said.

Police added that the woman's brothers "agreed to kill her in revenge."

"The men assured their sister that she would not be hurt and lured her to attend the wedding. The suspect killed her there, while her other two brothers severely beat the husband," the source added.

The key suspect has been charged with premeditated murder, and the other two as accessories.

Murder is punishable by the death penalty in Jordan, but in the case of so-called "honour killings," a court usually commutes or reduces sentences, particularly if the victim's family urges leniency.

Around 15-20 women are murdered each year in Jordan in the name of honour, despite government efforts to fight such crimes. Parliament has refused to reform the penal code to ensure harsher penalties.

Earlier this week, a man was charged with murder for shooting his niece, who had been raped.

30 August 2009

Source: The Vancouver Sun

Submitted on Sun, 08/16/2009 - 23:00
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