Marc Paul Alain Dutroux is a Belgian convicted serial killer, serial rapist, and child molester. Initially convicted for the abduction and rape of five young girls in 1989, Dutroux was released on parole after just three years' imprisonment. He was arrested again in 1996 on suspicion of having abducted, tortured, and sexually abused six girls aged between 8 and 19, four of whom were killed. Dutroux's widely publicized trial ended with his conviction on all charges in 2004; he was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.
Michel Paul Fourniret was a French serial killer who confessed to killing 12 people in France and Belgium between 1987 and 2003. After he was arrested in June 2003 for the attempted kidnapping of a teenage girl in Ciney, Fourniret confessed in 2004 to killing nine people — eight females and one male — having been informed on by his then-wife, Monique Pierrette Olivier. Fourniret was convicted of seven of these murders on 28 May 2008 and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole, while Olivier was given life with a minimum term of 28 years for complicity.
René Thirifays was a Belgian football player who finished top scorer of the Belgian League with 26 goals in 1949 while playing for Sporting Charleroi. He played 13 times with the Belgium national team between 1946 and 1949. Thirifays made his international debut on 23 February 1946 in a 7–0 friendly win against Luxembourg.
The murder of Ilan Halimi was the kidnapping, torture, and murder of a young Frenchman of Moroccan Jewish ancestry in France in 2006. Halimi was kidnapped on 21 January 2006 by a group calling themselves the Gang of Barbarians. The kidnappers, believing that all Jews are rich, repeatedly contacted the victim's modestly placed family demanding very large sums of money. Halimi was held captive and tortured for three weeks, and died of his injuries. The case drew national and international attention as an example of antisemitism in France.
Ghazala Khan was a Danish woman of Pakistani descent, who was shot and killed in Denmark by her brother after she had married against the will of the family. The murder of Ghazala had been ordered by her father to save the family honour, making it a so-called honour killing. Nine people from her family took part in arranging and performing the murder and they were all found guilty by Østre Landsret on 27 June 2006 on counts of murder and attempted murder.
Shafilea Iftikhar Ahmed was a British-Pakistani girl who was murdered by her parents in a suspected honour killing at the age of 17, due to her refusal to accept an arranged marriage.
Samaira Nazir was a 25-year-old British Pakistani woman who was murdered by her brother and cousin in an honour killing in Southall, London.
An honor killing, honour killing, or shame killing is a traditional form of murder in which a person is killed by or at the behest of members of their family, due to culturally sanctioned beliefs that such homicides are necessary as retribution for the perceived dishonoring of the family by the victim. Honor killings are often connected to religion, caste, other forms of hierarchical social stratification, or sexuality. Most often, it involves the murder of a woman or girl by male family members, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought dishonor or shame upon the family name, reputation or prestige. Honor killings are believed to have originated from tribal customs.
Aqsa "Axa" Parvez was the victim of a murder in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. During the murder trial, Superior Court Justice Bruce Durno acknowledged the slaying as an honour killing, stating, that he found it "profoundly disturbing that a 16-year-old could be murdered by a father and brother for the purpose of saving family pride, for saving them from what they perceived as family embarrassment". Aqsa's brother, Waqas, had strangled her. Aqsa's death was reported internationally and sparked a debate about the status of women in Islam. The Toronto Star stated that the father's perception of himself being unable to influence his daughter's behavior was a major factor in the death, and that "Media in Toronto and around the world immediately reported and continues to report that Aqsa was killed because she refused to wear the hijab. But it was much more complicated than that."
Lodelinsart is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Honour killings in Pakistan are known locally as karo-kari. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, over 470 cases of honour killings were reported in Pakistan in 2021. But human rights defenders estimate that around 1,000 women are murdered in the name of honour every year. An honour killing is the murder of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community. The death of the victim is viewed as a way to restore the reputation and honour of the family.
Sandeela Kanwal was a Pakistani woman living in the Atlanta metropolitan area in Clayton County, Georgia, who was murdered by her father Chaudhry Rashid in an honor killing, on July 6, 2008.
Events in the year 2011 in Belgium.
Laa is a Pakistani drama serial written by playwright and poet Sarmad Sehbai, directed by Farooq Rind and produced by Momina Duraid. It stars Meekal Zulfiqar, Sadia Khan and Sabreen Hisbani in lead roles. The serial aired Saturday evenings on Hum TV.
Salah Abdeslam is a Belgian-born Islamic terrorist who was sentenced to life in prison in France in 2022 as the only surviving member of the 10-man unit that carried out the attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015, in which 130 people were killed and more than 490 injured.
A Wedding is a 2016 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Stephan Streker. It was screened in the Discovery section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. It received eight nominations at the 8th Magritte Awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Streker, and won two. It is based on the honour killing of Sadia Sheikh. Streker described the film as a Greek tragedy.
On 29 May 2018, Benjamin Herman, a prisoner on temporary leave from prison, stabbed two female police officers, took their guns, shot and killed them and a civilian in Liège, Belgium. The gunman took a woman hostage before he was killed by police. The attacker had since 2017 been suspected of having been radicalised in prison after converting to Islam, and was reported to be part of the entourage of a prison Islamist recruiter. The method of the attack was said by investigators to match and be specifically encouraged by the Islamic State which claimed the attack. Prosecutors say they are treating the attacks as "terrorist murder". The attack is treated as "jihadist terrorism" by Europol.
Christian B.S. Van Eyken is a former Belgian politician who represented the Union des Francophones in the Flemish Parliament from 1995 to 2019. He was convicted of murder in 2019, with the court of appeal upholding the verdict in 2021.
Hina Saleem was a Pakistani woman resident in Italy who was the victim of an honour killing, in Zanano di Sarezzo, province of Brescia, Lombardy, Italy.
An honor killing, honour killing, or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of themselves or their family. Honor killings are often connected to religion, caste and other forms of hierarchical social stratification, or to sexuality, and those murdered will often be more liberal than the murderer rather than genuinely "dishonorable". Most often, it involves the murder of a woman or girl by male family members, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought dishonor or shame upon the family name, reputation or prestige. Honour killings are believed to have originated from tribal customs. They are prevalent in various parts of the world, natively in MENA countries and in South Asia especially in India, Pakistan and Nepal, as well as in immigrant communities in countries which do not otherwise have societal norms that encourage honor killings. Honor killings are often associated with rural and tribal areas, but they occur in urban areas too. Although condemned by international conventions and human rights organizations, honor killings are often justified and encouraged by various communities.
