Sunday, August 19, 2018

Houston death penalty trial brings focus to scourge of ‘honor killings’

The centuries-old crime of honor killing, stretching back to ancient Rome and present in the Middle East and Latin America, is taking place in America at a rate of more than 20 a year, according to a recent U.S. Justice Department report.

It’s a phenomenon that has concerned women activists given continued migration from countries where honor killings are still reported, although they remain rare in the United States when compared to other homicides.

But over the last several weeks, the ancient scourge has been highlighted in a Houston courtroom as details have emerged about a pair killings masterminded by Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan, a 60-year-old Jordanian immigrant. A Harris County jury last month convicted Irsan in “honor killings” of his daughter’s husband, 28-year-old Coty Beavers, and her close friend, Gelareh Bagherzadeh, 30, in two seperate shootings in 2012. Prosecutors also presented evidence that Irsan had killed another son-in-law nearly two decades ago.

According to the organization [the AHA Foundation], honor killings often involve several people in the family.

read more here @ Houston Chronicle

1 comment:

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