Arzu Özmen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arzu Özmen (born April 21, 1993 in Detmold ; † November 1, 2011 unknown) was a German- Kurdish Yezidis and victim of an act of violence within the family, a so-called honor killing . On the night of November 1, 2011, she was forcibly kidnapped by her five siblings and murdered by her brother Osman with two headshots in an unknown location .

Life

Arzu Özmen was one of ten children in the family. Her parents, Fendi and Adile Özmen, are Yazidi Kurds from the Southeast Anatolian city of Midyat in Turkey . The family came to Detmold in the early 1990s . Until 2010 she attended the Geschwister-Scholl-Gesamtschule in Detmold. In the Müller bakery in Remmighausen , Arzu Özmen worked on the weekends, where she also fell in love with the 23-year-old Russian-German journeyman baker Alexander K.

This relationship was obviously not tolerated by the family. For this reason, violence is said to have occurred several times. Arzu Özmen had reported the father and brother Osman. According to Arzu Özmen's lawyer, her parents kept imprisoning and beating the 18-year-old. She had changed her name, hair color, and hairstyle and was seeking refuge in a women's refuge .

assassination

On November 1, 2011, at around 1.30 a.m., the siblings broke into the apartment of Arzu Özmen's friend Alexander K. armed and forced them to leave the apartment with them. The friend alerted the police immediately after the attack.

The family members were arrested within 24 hours of the crime. Two of the brothers were arrested in Steinheim . The other two brothers and sister were later arrested and in custody taken. At this point there was no trace of Arzu Özmen. The siblings kept silent and refused to give any information about Arzu Özmen's whereabouts.

Witnesses claim to have heard gunshots in a nearby forest that night. A large-scale search began the following day. With a police helicopter and numerous forces, the police searched for hours on the city border between Detmold and Blomberg . However, the search was unsuccessful. At times, the authorities followed the trail to Turkey and switched their colleagues there into the investigation.

The investigative commission followed up on numerous clues, but received no information on the possible whereabouts. Four weeks after the disappearance, the investigators for the first time no longer ruled out a homicide.

On December 14, 2011, the ZDF broadcast “ Aktenzeichen XY ... unselöst ” called for help. The public prosecutor offered a reward of 5,000 euros.

On January 13, 2012, Arzu Özmen was found dead on a golf course in Großensee ( Schleswig-Holstein ). An employee of the golf club made the discovery on Friday morning and alerted the police at 9:20 a.m.

In mid-January, Brother Kemal broke his silence and made extensive statements about the course of events. Nevertheless, the circumstances of death remained unexplained. Because he was the only one to testify, Kemal Özmen was released from custody under certain conditions.

Around three weeks after the body was found, Arzu Özmen was buried on February 4, 2012 in the Turkish village of Cayirli (20 km from Midyat). According to the Turkish media, about 30 mourners were present, but not their parents.

Legal proceedings against the siblings

process

On March 7, 2012, prosecutors brought charges against the five siblings. They were accused of community hostage-taking . Two of the accused were charged with carelessly causing their deaths, the other three were charged with murder or aiding and abetting murder of low motives. The motive for the prosecution was that Arzu Özmen's family did not want to tolerate their love affair with a German for religious reasons. The Freiburg psychologist Jan Kizilhan , who was involved as a court expert, stated that misconduct by individual family members was considered a failure of the whole family. The Yazidi belief only allows relationships with Yazidis. In addition, sexual norms are given. Women should go into marriage as a virgin .

On the first day of the trial, 22-year-old Osman Özmen confessed to having killed his sister with two shots in the head. He said he lost control because Arzu berated and spat at him. The presiding judge Michael Reineke pointed out that in the further proceedings it had to be clarified whether Osman Özmen might falsely admit to the crime in order to take the punishment on himself.

The sister Sirin Özmen stated that the murder was not planned. They just wanted to "wash the head" of Arzu . The two brothers Kemal and Elvis went home. The other three - Sirin, Kirer and Osman - were with Arzu, in the blue Golf family, after Hamburg went to an uncle. When nobody opened there, the siblings decided to take Arzu to another uncle in Lübeck. On the route, the siblings stopped at a forest path, "because Kirer had to exit," explained Sirin. Arzu also got out a short time later, and Osman followed her. The nurse said she had stayed in the car until she suddenly heard two shots.

Sirin Özmen admitted that he was the driving force behind the kidnapping. As an employee of the city of Detmold, she had access to the registry of the residents ' registration office , which she used to search for Arzu. The city of Detmold had meanwhile initiated the termination of the employment relationship.

Kemal Özmen's fellow inmates said he had mentioned to them that Kirer was the driving force or even planned the murder. In court, however, neither of the two witnesses wanted to remember these statements. Apparently they feared reprisals . One of the two witnesses stated that he was beaten and threatened in prison when it became known that he was about to testify on the case.

The parents and the wife of the defendant Kemal Özmen exercised their right to refuse to give evidence . A cousin also refused to testify.

On the fourth day of the trial, it became known that Kemal Özmen had spoken several times with the investigating officers about acceptance into a witness protection program . The officials said that he had always said that he no longer wanted to have anything to do with his "original family" .

The psychological report showed that all the accused siblings were at fault. With Osman Özmen there is no evidence of blind anger and no evidence of a trigger for the crime, such as a panic reaction. There was no storm of excitement that could have caused Osman Özmen to shoot.

The public prosecutor's office started investigations against Fendi Özmen (Arzu Özmen's father), whose complicity should be considered on the basis of other evidence.

judgment

On May 16, 2012, the Detmold Regional Court sentenced Osman Özmen to life imprisonment . Kirer and Sirin Özmen were sentenced to ten years in prison for hostage-taking and aiding and abetting murder. Kemal Özmen, like his brother Elvis, is due to be held hostage for five and a half years in prison.

The presiding judge Michael Reineke found clear words in his judgment: “Arzu was executed by her brother with two headshots. That was a murder with an announcement, it wasn't about washing her head. ” He went on: “ The Arzu case is not a family dispute, it was an honor killing, nothing else. ”

The exact circumstances of death could not be conclusively determined. It is still not clear where exactly Arzu Özmen was murdered. The murder weapon is also missing. The way of transporting the corpse is also still open.

Legal proceedings against the parents

In November 2012, Fendi Özmen, Arzu's father, was charged with incitement to murder and aggravated assault and the trial against him was opened on January 28, 2013. The indictment charged the 53-year-old with assault and incitement to murder.

After four days of trial, Fendi Özmen was sentenced on February 4, 2013 by the court to six and a half years in prison for aiding and abetting murder by omission and dangerous physical harm.

In July 2013, the Detmold regional court sentenced Adile Özmen to a suspended prison sentence of one year. In addition, the mother had to do 80 hours of community service. The subject of the proceedings, however, was not the murder, but a punitive action among the family on August 27, 2011. Adile Özmen was guilty of dangerous bodily harm, deprivation of liberty and coercion of her daughter Arzu.

Reactions

Memorial stone in Remmighausen

After the results of the investigation became known, the city of Detmold removed Sirin Özmen, who was employed by it, from her employment. In the course of the process, she had admitted that, as a municipal employee in the civil service, order, fire and rescue service department, she had improperly accessed the register to determine whether the later murder victim had changed his name.

On January 21, 2012, Serap Çileli , human rights activist and chairwoman of Peri eV , called for a funeral march and a rally for Arzu Özmen in Detmold. More than 500 people took part in this silent march. Among the mourners were the Bundestag member Ute Koczy (Greens / Bündnis '90), Landtag member Dennis Maelzer (SPD) and Lippe's District Administrator Friedel Heuwinkel (CDU). Detmold's mayor, Rainer Heller, was among the participants.

The Central Council of Yazidis in Germany stated in a press release that it condemned the murder of Arzu Özmen: “These inhuman acts are absolutely incompatible with our religion. Those responsible must experience the full severity of the law. "

On February 4, 2012 Arzu Özmen was buried in Turkey. On the same day, Serap Cileli posted a video of the funeral. “It is not uncommon for women and girls who have been victims of an honor killing to be buried in anonymous graves,” says Serap Cileli. "Concerned that the same thing would happen to Arzu, we, Peri eV, activated our cooperation partner in Istanbul to attend the funeral and observe the proceedings for us on site." Two days later, an eyewitness report by Peri activist and lawyer Vildan followed Yirmibesoglu at the funeral, in which she describes the entire funeral in a catchy manner: “I was the only one who brought flowers to the funeral. It was important to me to accompany Arzu on her last trip with a bouquet of flowers. She was still such a young girl, like a flower torn out in the middle of the prime of her life. "

At the start of the trial on April 30, 2012, the human rights groups Terre des Femmes and Peri organized a vigil in front of the Detmold district court. They demanded that no culture bonus be granted for “honor killers” in German courts, and they set an example against traditional notions of honor and demanded a fair punishment of the perpetrators.

A memorial stone in Remmighausen is supposed to remember the killed Arzu Özmen. The city had already indicated its approval. “The request for a memorial stone was brought to us from many sides. We think it's good and will support this idea positively, ” said Stefan Fenneker from the Integration Coordination Office in Detmold.

To announce the verdict, the organizations Terre des Femmes and Peri again invited to a vigil. Both clubs rated the verdict as a success: “The verdict is a step forward in legal history in honor killings,” said Irmingard Schewe-Gerigk from Terre des Femmes.

The Cologne lawyer and 2nd chairwoman of Peri eV, Brigitta Biehl, was there as a trial observer from the beginning and said: “The judgment should strengthen the fathers who try to assert themselves against the patriarchal society and allow their daughters to lead a self-determined life. The opposite behavior is outlawed by our legal system, which the court clearly expressed with this judgment. "

"The entire Özmen family has plunged into the abyss due to a well-worn concept of honor," said Ute Koczy, member of the Bundestag.

The association Peri eV stated in a press release that the 1st chairwoman Serap Cileli was threatened by relatives and friends of the Özmen family. After the court ruling, they recognized them and began to “gesticulate wildly and point at them again and again” . Her body language was clearly "aggressive and tense" . According to the Peri association, some men from this group followed them and their companions "every step of the way" . The board of the association informed the police according to their own statements.

Even after the verdict against the father Fendi Özmen, there should have been violent reactions, according to the Peri association. Members of the Özmen family wanted to demonstrate against the judgment in front of the Detmold regional court. Only on the advice of the defenders was this action apparently abandoned. Four days after the verdict against Fendi Özmen, death threats against the chief prosecutor from Detmold and a journalist from the Westfalen-Blatt were found on the Internet.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ “Police temporarily stop searching for Arzu Özmen” , Lippische Landes-Zeitung, November 10, 2011
  2. ↑ Trial of the murder of Arzu Özmen: six and a half years imprisonment for the father ( memento of February 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), wdr.de, February 4, 2013
  3. ↑ "Siblings sentenced to long prison terms" ( Memento from May 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), WDR, May 16, 2011
  4. ^ "18-year-old Kurdish woman abducted by her own family" , Neue Westfälische, November 2, 2011
  5. ↑ a b "18-year-old Kurdish woman abducted by family members" , Lippische Landes-Zeitung, November 2, 2011
  6. ↑ “The difficult investigations in the Arzu Özmen case” , Neue Westfälische, November 9, 2011
  7. ^ "Police are looking for Arzu in Turkey too" ( memento from January 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), Lippische Landes-Zeitung, January 4, 2012
  8. ^ "Police: Arzu Özmen possibly killed" , Neue Westfälische, November 30, 2011
  9. ^ "Notes in the Stolzenau and Arzu case according to" Aktenzeichen XY "" , Der Westen, December 15, 2011
  10. ↑ "found body of Arzu Özmen in Lübeck" ( Memento of 19 March 2012 at the Internet Archive ), The West, 14. January 2012
  11. ^ "Brother of Arzu Özmen at large" ( Memento from June 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), Der Westen, February 2, 2012
  12. ↑ a b “Arzu buried in Turkey” ( Memento from May 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), Lippische Landes-Zeitung, February 4, 2012
  13. ↑ The funeral of Arzu Özmen ( Memento from August 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), peri eV, February 5, 2012
  14. ^ “Public prosecutor's office brings charges against Arzu's siblings” , Der Westen, March 7, 2012
  15. ↑ "Sacrifice to save honor" , Der Westen, May 15, 2012
  16. ^ "Brother admits fatal shots" , FAZ, April 30, 2012
  17. ^ "Osman Özmen admits shots at Arzu" ( Memento from May 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Lippische Landes-Zeitung, April 30, 2012
  18. ^ "City of Detmold separates from Sirin Özmen" ( Memento from May 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), Lippische Landes-Zeitung, May 9, 2012
  19. ^ "Fellow prisoners fear reprisals" , Lippische Landes-Zeitung, May 10, 2012
  20. ↑ "Arzu's relatives remain silent in the murder trial" ( Memento of 20 May 2012 at the Internet Archive ), Lippe-Zeitung, May 11, 2012
  21. ↑ a b Court observations by peri eV on the fourth day of the trial for the murdered Arzu Özmen ( Memento from August 1, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), May 14, 2012
  22. ^ "Three siblings are appealing" , Neue Westfälische, May 18, 2012
  23. ↑ "Life imprisonment for Arzu's killer" , image, 16. May 2012
  24. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: “That was an execution” ), Westfalen-Blatt, May 17, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.westfalen-blatt.de
  25. ↑ Trial against the father of the murdered Arzu Özmen opened ( memento from August 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Lippische-Landeszeitung, January 28, 2013
  26. ↑ Rheinische Post January 29, 2013: Dead Arzu Ö .: Trial against father opened ( Memento from April 12, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
  27. ↑ spiegel.de January 28, 2013: Arzu Ö case: Father denies inciting his children to murder
  28. ↑ Long imprisonment for Arzu's father Fendi Özmen ( Memento from August 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Lippische-Landeszeitung, February 4, 2013
  29. ↑ stern.de: father of Arzu Ö. sentenced to long imprisonment
  30. ↑ Spiegel.de, February 4, 2013: Honor killing trial: Long prison sentence for the father of the killed Arzu Ö.
  31. ↑ nw-news.de: Arzu Özmen's mother sentenced to one year imprisonment on probation
  32. ^ City of Detmold separates from Sirin Özmen ( Memento from July 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), LZ.de from May 9, 2012
  33. ↑ "500 people at the funeral march for Arzu Özmen in Detmold" , Neue Westfälische, January 21, 2012
  34. ^ "Arzu Özmen disappeared without a trace" , German-Turkish News, November 16, 2011
  35. ^ "Eyewitness report by the Peri activist and lawyer, Vildan Yirmibesoglu, on the funeral of Arzu Özmen in Turkey" ( Memento from June 27, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), peri eV, February 6, 2012
  36. ↑ Arzu case: Vigil at the start of the process ( memento from September 7, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), Lippische Landes-Zeitung, April 25, 2012
  37. ^ "Trial:" Honorary "murder of Arzu Özmen" ( Memento from June 27, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), peri eV, April 30, 2012
  38. ^ "Pictures of the vigil" ( Memento from May 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), peri eV, April 30, 2012
  39. ^ "City advocates memorial stone for Arzu" ( Memento from February 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), Lippische Landes-Zeitung, February 14, 2012
  40. ↑ Print Send Bookmark Letter to the Editor Page 1 of 2 next> >> 16.05.2012 DETMOLD Read out loud Women's organizations rate judgment as a success ( Memento from September 3, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), Lippische Landes-Zeitung, May 16, 2012
  41. ↑ “Report from peri eV on the 5th day of the process” ( Memento from February 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), peri eV, May 16, 2012
  42. ^ "Demonstrators remember Arzu Özmen with large pictures" ( Memento from May 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), Lippische Landes-Zeitung, May 17, 2012
  43. ↑ "Chairwoman of the human rights association" Peri "allegedly threatened" , Neue Westfälische, May 18, 2012
  44. ^ "Press release" , Peri eV, May 17, 2012
  45. ↑ "Death threats and protests after the judgment against Fendi Özmen" ( Memento from September 14, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), Peri eV, February 9, 2013 2012
  46. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: "Özmen case: Death threat after judgment" ), Westfalen-Blatt, February 9, 2013@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.westfalen-blatt.de

Web links

items
Trials of father Fendi Özmen
Trial observations against the siblings
Videos
personal data
SURNAME Özmen, Arzu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Kurdish Yezidin and victim of an honor killing
DATE OF BIRTH April 21, 1993
PLACE OF BIRTH Detmold
DATE OF DEATH November 1, 2011