Murdered by her own brother in Berlin because of her western lifestyle

A silent remembrance with representatives from politics and society is planned on Friday (February 6th) at the place where the 23-year-old was killed. At the spot on Oberlandstrasse in Tempelhof, a memorial stone commemorates the young woman.

“The murder of Hatun Sürücü was a femicide – she was killed because as a woman she was not given the right to shape her life according to her own ideas,” Social Senator Cansel Kiziltepe told the German Press Agency in advance. “When we commemorate her death today, we also think of the other girls and women who were killed or experienced violence because they are girls or women – all over the world, including here in Berlin,” said the SPD politician.

What is needed is better protection for possible victims. Kiziltepe announced that the 9th women’s and children’s shelter with 52 places will open in Berlin this month. “Women with several children are also accepted there, and in this way we are closing a current gap in our protection system,” said the senator.

Shot by brother at bus stop

Hatun Sürücü was shot dead by one of her brothers at a bus stop in Tempelhof on February 7, 2005. Her death sparked nationwide horror and a discussion about patriarchal structures in Muslim immigrant families.

Against her family’s wishes, the young woman took off her headscarf and learned a profession. Their Western lifestyle allegedly violated the family’s honor. After more than nine years in juvenile detention, the perpetrator was deported to Turkey. A court in Istanbul acquitted two brothers of complicity.

Permanent memorial planned

In addition to the memorial stone at the crime scene, a memorial in Spandau will permanently commemorate the murder of the German-Turkish woman. The Spandau district office wants to preserve and redesign her grave in the cemetery in Gatow.

According to City Councilor Thorsten Schatz, the reburial took place before the onset of winter. After the frost period, the design work for the new memorial will begin.

Since people regularly visit the site, the district has left the previous grave site intact and placed a notice that Sürücü has been reburied. “We wanted to avoid irritating people who visit the grave, nor giving the impression that we wanted to completely clear the grave or even hide it,” explained Schatz when asked by the German Press Agency.