Honor Killing Retrial

Last year, a Berlin court acquitted Mutlu Sürücü and Alpaslan Sürücü of being accessories to the murder of their sister, Hatin, saying there was insufficient evidence.

Their younger brother Ayhan Sürücü, who was a juvenile at the time, was convicted by the same Berlin court to nine years and three months in prison for gunning down Hatin on a Berlin street in 2005.

The Federal Court of Justice in Leipzig has now ruled a retrial on the grounds that the Berlin court ignored evidence given by the youngest brother's ex-girlfriend.

She had told the Berlin court Ayhan had confided that one of his older brothers had obtained the murder weapon. She also said the other brother was nearby when the murder took place to help Ayhan.

The Berlin Court originally ruled that evidence conflicted with other statements.

Conviction still holds

Today's ruling by the Leipzig court does not affect the conviction of Ayhan Sürücü, who said he killed his sister because he felt dishonored by her lifestyle.

Hatin Sürücü grew up in Germany but was forced into a marriage with a cousin who lived in Turkey. After giving birth to a son in Berlin, Hatin subsequently refused to return to Turkey.

Six months later, she moved out of her parent's home and began to train as an electrician, turning her back on her conservative Muslim family. She even stopped wearing her headscarf.

Her murder shocked Germany and triggered angry debate about the integration of the estimated two million people of Turkish origin who live in the country.