10 April 2008
Norway: Fear of honor murder by suspected rapist
The police and the Kristiansand court think a 59 year old might commit honor murder if he's released from custody. The man is suspected of having sex with his two minor daughters for
several years. After the attacks were reported, he threatened to kill his children. As a result one of the daughter has been housed in a secret address for fear of threats and reprisals from the father. Both girls say they fear their father will kill them if he gets out.
One of the daughters was told by close relatives to forget what happened or she'll be killed.
The 59 year old was arrested in February. The man is also suspect of obstructing the investigation by threatening to kill one of the daughter and two witness if they spoke to the police. Two of the sons in the family, brothers to the alleged victims, are suspected and have been arrested for having helped their father with obstructing the investigation.
The father, a Kurd, denies the allegations. He told police that he's a Muslim and that he neither hit nor attacked his daughters. He says the girls must be saying that he did because he didn't allow one of them to get married to the person she wanted, or that somebody else attacked them.
Witnesses who support the father think one or both daughter want to be independent and live out of the family. But the daughters have told police that they have lived for years under threats and violence, along with sexual attacks.
Police think the father's cultural and religious background significantly increase the risk of repeating the crimes. According to the investigators it's inexcusable and unacceptable that the victims speak with the police against their father's and brothers' wishes.
The Kristiansand court supported the police in holding the 59 year old in prison for fear of repetition, until the case gets to court. The court wrote that this opinion must be seen in light of the suspect's cultural background which sees humiliation according to the honor concept as central. The court thinks the fact that the daughters have told of sexual assault is strongly related to loss of honor and that the father should therefore be under arrest.
Both the father and sons reject honor murder. Ketil Magnus Berg, the father's lawyers, says that loss of honor is not a problem since his client denies the accusations against him.
Police lawyer Ingrid Thorsen of the Agder police district says that they would request to continue to have the father imprisoned
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09:23 Posted in EUROPE | Permalink | Comments (0) | 
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