Jordanian kills divorced sister over ‘suspicions’

Murder is punishable by death in Jordan, but in so-called “honor killings,” courts can commute or reduce sentences, particularly if the victim's family asks for leniency. (AP)

By AFP
AMMAN

A Jordanian man was charged on Wednesday with killing his divorced sister after stabbing her and driving his truck over her body several times because of her alleged “suspicious behavior,” police said.

“The suspect, in his forties, was charged with premeditated murder after confessing to the crime, claiming his divorced sister had indulged in suspicious behavior,” a police spokesman told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The crime took place early on Wednesday in the northern Greco-Roman city of Jerash.

“The man stabbed the woman and then took her to a deserted area where he repeatedly ran over her body to make sure she was dead,” the spokesman said.

Murder is punishable by death in Jordan, but in so-called “honor killings,” courts can commute or reduce sentences, particularly if the victim's family asks for leniency.

Earlier this month, a 65-year-old man was charged with stabbing to death his 25-year-old daughter after she gave birth outside wedlock.

Between 15 and 20 women die in “honor” murders each year in the Arab kingdom, despite government efforts to curb such crimes.