AMMAN: A Jordanian man was charged on Sunday with premeditated murder after allegedly stabbing to death his 22-year-old daughter because she became pregnant outside wedlock, police said.
“The father and his brother took the girl on Saturday to a doctor because she suffered stomach pains, and everybody was surprised to learn that she was six months pregnant,” a police spokesman told AFP. “On their way home, the father stabbed the girl with a sword 25 times in her stomach, killing her immediately as well as her unborn baby boy.” The source said the suspect has confessed to the crime following the murder, which took place in the Jordan Valley.
“His brother was also charged with premeditated murder, while the victim’s boyfriend is being held in custody for his own protection,” he added.
Murder is punishable by the death penalty in Jordan but in such cases of the so-called “honor killings” a court usually commutes or reduces sentences, particularly if the victim’s family urges leniency.
In the past, parliament has refused to institute harsher penalties.
Around 15-20 women are murdered each year in Jordan in the name of honor, despite government efforts to fight such crimes. So far this year, 17 cases have been reported.
