Hizb ut-Tahrir and an Honor Killing in Turkey

A 17-year-old Turkish girl ran away from home to escape family violence and took refuge in a women’s shelter. When she left the shelter, her family managed to discover her whereabouts, and she was strangled to death by her little brother.

The article doesn’t say what her “crime” was — having a boyfriend, perhaps, or wearing makeup, or maybe dressing “shamelessly” — but it does say that her brother had previously been in trouble with the police for his membership in Hizb ut-Tahrir.

I draw no conclusions from this information — correlation, as they say, is not causation. Here are the facts; make of them what you will:

Young Turkish Woman Murdered in ‘Honor Killing’ After Leaving Shelter

A 17-year-old woman found dead one month ago was allegedly murdered by her 15-year-old brother in an “honor killing” after she left the women’s shelter where she was staying, daily Radikal reported Wednesday.

The body of Seyma G. was found half buried in the ground in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, while subsequent tests revealed that she had been strangled to death. Her brother Y.G. was caught by police and then arrested July 16.

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According to a press statement announced Tuesday by the Diyarbakir police, the suspects in the murder were determined after an examination of the crime scene revealed footprints in the area and fingerprints on the tape put over the victim’s mouth.

The victim had reportedly been staying in a women’s shelter after being subjected to violence at home. Family members allegedly found her after they learned she had left the shelter.

Her brother, who is accused in the murder, had previously been detained for being a member of the illegal Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Hat tip: C. Cantoni.