‘Honour killing’: 22-year-old Iraqi YouTuber killed by father over family dispute
A young Iraqi YouTuber became the victim of ‘honour killing’ at the hands of a family member. The killing of 22-year-old Tiba al-Ali sparked outrage in Iraq. Interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan noted in a tweet on Friday that Ali was killed by her father on January 31 in the southern province of Diwaniya. Notably, Ali resided in Turkey and was visiting her family in Iraq.
Mann noted that police had tried to mediate between Ali and her relatives to ‘resolve a family dispute’. The minister further said that after the police’s initial meeting with the family, ‘we were surprised the next day… with the news of her killing at the hands of her father, as he admitted in his initial confessions’.
A police spokesperson told AFP on the condition of anonymity that the family dispute dated back to 2015.
The source added that Ali had travelled to Turkey with her family in 2017, but had refused to return with them, choosing instead to stay in Turkey where she resided since.
Human rights defender Hanaa Edwar told AFP that, according to voice recordings of the young woman, ‘she left her family… because she was sexually assaulted by her brother’.
Notably, unverified recordings of conversations between Ali and her father indicated that he was not happy about her decision to live alone in Turkey.
Ali had gained a good fan following on YouTube where she would upload videos of her life in Turkey, in which her fiance would often appear.
Ali’s death caused a furore on social media in Iraq, where the so-called ‘honour killings’ continue to happen.
Amnesty International condemned the incident saying ‘the Iraqi penal code still treats leniently so-called ‘honour crimes’ comprising violent acts such as assault and even murder’.
“Until the Iraqi authorities adopt robust legislation to protect women and girls… we will inevitably continue to witness horrific murders,” said Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Aya Majzoub.
