Sunday, 7 February 2010

Coming soon to the EU

Turkish police have recovered the body of a 16-year-old girl they say was buried alive by relatives in an "honour" killing carried out as punishment for talking to boys.


The girl, who has been identified only by the initials MM, was found in a sitting position with her hands tied, in a two-metre hole dug under a chicken pen outside her home in Kahta, in the south-eastern province of Adiyaman.


Police made the discovery in December after a tip-off from an informant, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on its website.


The girl had previously been reported missing.


The informant told the police she had been killed following a family "council" meeting.


The death reopens debate over 'honour' killings in Turkey, which account for half of all the country's murders.


The earliest date that Turkey could enter the EU is 2013