NCJ Number
187537
Journal
Jaargang Volume: 26 Issue: 8 Dated: October/November 2000 Pages: 87-97
Date Published
2000
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article on honor killings in Turkey focuses on two issues: the Turkish Penal Code in relation to honor killings and the criticism in Turkey of honor killings.
Abstract
In the Turkish Penal Code there are two articles that give a reduction of sentence when the killing is committed in order to purify the honor of the family. Article 453 gives a reduction of sentence when an illegitimate baby is killed right after birth. Article 462 reduces the imprisonment with 7/8, when the killing was done right before, during, or right after a situation of adultery or fornication. In June 1998 for the first time in Turkey, a book on honor killings was published. This was done by Mehmet Farac, a Turkish journalist. He wrote about five honor killings of girls in the southeastern town of Urfa. In September 1999 a panel discussion on honor killings was held in Ankara. Lawyers and jurists argued that the articles 453 and 462 should be abolished.