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Father in Germany strangled 19-year-old daughter in ‘honour killing’ after she was caught stealing condoms

Lareeb Khan’s father did not approve of her boyfriend and said she had brought ‘dishonour’ on the family 

Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith
Monday 28 September 2015 16:34 BST
Defendant Asadullah K. (C) is escorted to a courtroom of the regional court in Darmstadt, Germany,
Defendant Asadullah K. (C) is escorted to a courtroom of the regional court in Darmstadt, Germany, (EPA)

A Muslim father in Germany has admitted to strangling his 19-year-old daughter to death after she was caught shoplifting condoms to be with her boyfriend.

Asadullah Khan, 51, and his wife Shazia, 41, both from Pakistan, are on trial for the murder of their daughter Lareeb Khan in Darmstadt, Germany, the Daily Mail reports.

Khan told the court he believed his daughter Lareeb, a dental technician, had brought “dishonour” to the family by being in a relationship with a boy he did not approve of. Khan said he wanted Lareeb to have an arranged marriage as he and his wife had done.

In a statement read out in court, Shazia said her daughter had stayed away from the family home for several nights in a row and had stopped wearing her headscarf, adding that the family had received a letter from police informing them that Lareeb had been caught trying to steal condoms.

“At this point it became clear that there was sexual contact. When I showed the letter to my husband he snapped,” the statement said.

Lareeb's mother covers her face in court (EPA)

The court reportedly heard that in January this year Lareeb’s younger sister, Nida, 14, was sent to stay with a relative on the night the teenager was killed.

Shazia said Lareeb had hit her father that night during a quarrel.

Khan reportedly entered Lareeb’s room while she was asleep and strangled her to death.

Shazia, who described herself as a downtrodden woman, claimed she was unable to stop her husband from killing Lareeb. She told the court in a statement she suffers from rheumatism and was not strong enough to fight her husband off. She said she tried to scream but was unable to.

Khan and his wife, both from Pakistan, are accused of killing their 19-year-old daughter Lareeb (EPA)

Khan and his wife reportedly dressed Lareeb in her clothes after she had died before placing her body in a wheelchair and transporting her out of the family home in a high rise building to their car. They pair then allegedly drove Lareeb to quiet area in Darmstadt where they abandoned the body.

Their younger daughter Nida denied that her mother was downtrodden, stating: “My mama was not suppressed, she could do what she wanted. She used to hit me with a stick.”

Nida reportedly has no relationship with her parents and refused to acknowledge her mother in the court room when Shazia held her arms out to the young teenager.

The trial continues.

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