Vigil against honor killings in northeast Syria
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Residents of the city of Raqqa, northern Syria, went out on Thursday in a demonstration rejecting violence against women, especially the recent murders of women in the northeastern city of Hasakah.
Amjad al-Ali, a participant in the demonstration, said that the residents of Raqqa reject crimes against women under the pretext of honor.
Al-Ali told North Press, “It is the duty of the concerned authorities to pursue this case firmly and apply deterrent penalties against its perpetrators to prevent its recurrence in the future.”
The demonstrators set out in front of the National Hospital towards al-Naeem Roundabout in the city center carrying several banners, one of which said “Stop the killing of women and girls.”
Last week, the killing of the minor Eida al-Hamoudi al-Sa’ido in the city of Hasakah sparked a wave of anger, after a number of her family members shot her dead and documented the crime with video recordings.
In the video, a group of armed family members appeared to be taking the girl to an abandoned house in Hasakah countryside. The girl was begging them to be released before she was killed.
Last Monday, less than a week after the incident, the residents were surprised by the killing of another girl named Aya Khelefo in Hasakah, which was a great shock to women’s organizations and raised fears that these crimes would spread unless they were legally deterred.
Civil organizations in northeast Syria called on the concerned authorities in the Autonomous Administration to hold accountable those involved in the killing of two minor girls under the pretext of “honor” and to be sentenced to the most severe penalties.