She wanted a different life, a self-determined one. Maryam H. divorced the man she was forced to marry to in Afghanistan when she was 16, dressed modernly, took a German course, and the mother of two fell in love with another man. But two of her brothers are said to have punished her terribly. Sayed Yousuf H. and Seyed Mahdi H. have been before the Berlin district court since Wednesday for murder.
The Afghan brothers, who say they are 26 and 23 years old, are silent in court. They are each represented by two lawyers. The defense attorneys had prepared motions. It was about an interpreter, about the lawyer for the joint prosecutor, about the question of whether information given by one of the accused to the police could be used.
Co-plaintiffs are Maryam H.’s children, aged 14 and 10. Lawyer Roland Weber represents the siblings. It was not she who appeared in court, but her father. Maryam H. had divorced him. He is said to have hit her.
The public prosecutor’s office assumes murder for base motives. They lured their 34-year-old sister out of the house on July 13, 2021. They throttled Maryam H., choked her, and finally severed her carotid artery with a massive cut. According to the indictment, they killed her sister because she “contrary to the moral concepts of the defendants followed a partially modern lifestyle”, defied the brothers’ instructions and had a romantic relationship.
“Let’s see how tall and heavy you are”
“Suitcase, up to 70 kg, Berlin” – this is how Seyed Yousuf H. is said to have searched for luggage on the Internet. A few days earlier, he and his brother are said to have suggested a seemingly harmless game to their sister and children: “Let’s see how big and heavy you are.” This is how the boy is said to have later described it in a judicial hearing. The children are also said to have reported that the brothers checked on their mother and that there were also beatings.
[Mehr zum Thema: Ein sogenannter Ehrenmord? Der Tod einer jungen Afghanin in Berlin – eine Rekonstruktion (T+)]
According to the prosecution, they placed the body in a large trolley case that they had bought shortly before. According to investigations, they were taken to the Südkreuz train station in a taxi. They arrived at 4:33 p.m. – filmed by surveillance cameras.
The video shows how the men dragged a suitcase that was probably bulging from a heavy load through the station hall. At 5:52 p.m., they heaved the suitcase onto the train to Donauwörth in Bavaria, where the older brother lived.
According to investigations, the younger brother drove back to Berlin the next morning. Yousuf H. had his girlfriend drive him to Holzkirchen, 30 kilometers away. The suitcase was in the car. There was an accident, you should trust him, Yousuf H. is said to have explained to the woman. Then he disappeared into a wooded area with his suitcase and a spade.
Her boyfriend went to the police shortly after the disappearance
Because he could not reach Maryam H. on her cell phone, her boyfriend went to the police shortly after her disappearance. investigations began. The brothers were questioned first as witnesses, then as suspects. The older man’s girlfriend was also questioned. She got involved in contradictions, then led the investigators to the buried corpse.
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The case triggered a debate about the term “honor killing” – and about the failed integration of refugees. The accused are two men who entered the country as young people without ever arriving. They remained attached to the moral concepts of their arch-conservative family from Afghanistan, the archaic-patriarchal structures.
A lot of circumstantial evidence led to the arrest of the brothers on August 3rd. Video recordings, cell phone data, a piece of a rubber glove with the younger brother’s DNA on the body. During the investigation they are said to have denied the allegations – there were clothes, sports gear and glass in the suitcase.
Honor killing as a motive is “poetry,” said lawyer Mirko Röder as spokesman for Mahdi H.’s defense. There have been prejudices by politicians. The process will take a long time and “possibly also be marked by conflicts”. To be continued on Friday.
