as if iraq didn't have enough headaches already...

let's add honor killings to the list...

fortunately, the kurdish regional government (krg) publicly condemned the recent stoning to death of du'a khalil aswad, a 17-year-old yezidi girl, and the subsequent summary killing of 23 yezidi workers, near the northern city of mosul, reportedly by a sunni muslim armed group...

in their may day public statement the krg pointed out that the "honour killing" of du'a khalil aswad took place in the area administered by the iraqi government, not the krg, and called for her killers to be brought to justice...

according to wikipedia an honor killing is a murder, nearly exclusively of a woman, who has been perceived as having brought dishonor to her family...such killings are typically perpetrated by the victim's own relatives and/or community and unlike crimes of passion or rage-induced killings, usually planned in advance...

according to amnesty international the krg stated in its statement that there had been 40 convictions for so-called honour killings in the kurdistan region since the kurdish parliament amended the law in 2002 to remove a provision in the iraqi penal code allowing lenient sentences for perpetrators of "honour crimes", and that at least 24 other cases are pending...

amnesty international has written to the krg requesting details of these cases, including the names of all those who have been tried for alleged "honour crimes" since the law was changed, how many were convicted and the sentences imposed in each case...the organization has also written to the iraqi government to seek information about investigations into the stoning to death of du'a khalil aswad and the subsequent murder of 23 yezidi workers, and calling for the perpetrators of these crimes to be brought to justice promptly and fairly and without recourse to the death penalty...

amnesty international is also urging the iraqi authorities to amend the law to ensure that "honour killings" are made a serious criminal offence and to take concrete measures to protect all those at risk of becoming victims of "honour crimes"...

for an excellent background story on this act of murder read killing for honor by laura jamison in amnesty international's magazine...help spread the word...

peace out <3