17-year-old girl stoned to death in Iraq

[GeraldFord]

A 17-year-old girl has been stoned to death in Iraq because she loved a teenage boy of the wrong religion.

As a horrifying video of the stoning went out on the Internet, the British arm of Amnesty International condemned the death of Du?a Khalil Aswad as "an abhorrent murder" and demanded that her killers be brought to justice.

Reports from Iraq said a local security force witnessed the incident, but did nothing to try to stop it. Now her boyfriend is in hiding in fear for his life.   

Miss Aswad, a member of a minority Kurdish religious group called Yezidi, was condemned to death as an "honour killing" by other men in her family and hardline religious leaders because of her relationship with the Sunni Muslim boy.


The teenager was dragged outside by 8 or 9 men and stoned for half an hour until she died. Her boyfriend is now in hiding in fear for his life

They said she had shamed herself and her family when she failed to return home one night. Some reports suggested she had converted to Islam to be closer to her boyfriend.

Miss Aswad had taken shelter in the house of a Yezidi tribal leader in Bashika, a predominantly Kurdish town near the northern capital, Mosul.

A large crowd watched as eight or nine men stormed the house and dragged Miss Aswad into the street. There they hurled stones at her for half an hour until she was dead.

The stoning happened last month, but only came to light yesterday with the release of the Internet video.

It is feared her death has already triggered a retaliatory attack. Last week 23 Yezidi workmen were forced off a bus travelling from Mosulto Bashika by a group of Sunni gunmen and summarily shot dead.

An Amnesty International spokesman in London said they receive frequent reports of honour crimes from Iraq ? particularly in the predominantly Kurdish north.

Most victims are women and girls who are considered by male relatives to have shamed their families by immoral behaviour.

Kurdish authorities have introduced reforms outlawing honour killings, but have failed to investigate them or prosecute suspects, added the Amnesty spokesman.

Kate Allen, the organisation?s UK director, said: "This young girl?s murder is truly abhorrent and her killers must be brought to justice.

"Unless the authorities respond vigorously to this and any other reports of crimes in the name of 'honour', we must fear for the future of women in Iraq."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=452288&in_page_id=1811

[The Dog]

Disgusting.

We can't pull out of that country fast enough.  Our troops are over there so THIS can happen!?!?!?  This is bringing freedom and democracy?

Some liberation.

What a f'ing joke.

[-Jack-]

Fucking sick. Makes me fucking sick.

Terrible news. God bless her soul..

Fucked up world.

[-Jack-]

Not to stray too far from the topic, but this story makes me curious.

Has anyone seen the video?  Would you watch it?  I know I couldn't, stuff like that would haunt me for months if I saw it.  I guess I just wonder who watches these things, and why.  What do they get out of it?

Seriously, I'm not asking to judge.  I really want to know the thought process behind watching something like that. 

I couldn't watch it. 30 min of someone being brutally tortured? A poor innocent girl who just loved someone and was tired of the hate? Disgusting. 

[freedom78]

Not to stray too far from the topic, but this story makes me curious.

Has anyone seen the video?  Would you watch it?  I know I couldn't, stuff like that would haunt me for months if I saw it.  I guess I just wonder who watches these things, and why.  What do they get out of it?

Seriously, I'm not asking to judge.  I really want to know the thought process behind watching something like that. 

I just watched it.  Well...actually it was seven 45 sec. clips, so not the full 30 minute stoning.

I'm willing to bet that it's ethnic prejudice taken to an extreme, and probably so due to the former Sunni domination of Iraq.  Of course, that certainly doesn't excuse it.  The worst part, to me, wasn't the stoning itself, but the large group of onlookers, taking photos/video with their cellphones and cheering. 

I wish I could say I'm shocked, but I'm not.  How sad is that?

[The Dog]

Not to stray too far from the topic, but this story makes me curious.

Has anyone seen the video?  Would you watch it?  I know I couldn't, stuff like that would haunt me for months if I saw it.  I guess I just wonder who watches these things, and why.  What do they get out of it?

Seriously, I'm not asking to judge.  I really want to know the thought process behind watching something like that. 

I just watched it.  Well...actually it was seven 45 sec. clips, so not the full 30 minute stoning.

I'm willing to bet that it's ethnic prejudice taken to an extreme, and probably so due to the former Sunni domination of Iraq.  Of course, that certainly doesn't excuse it.  The worst part, to me, wasn't the stoning itself, but the large group of onlookers, taking photos/video with their cellphones and cheering. 

I wish I could say I'm shocked, but I'm not.  How sad is that?

i would probably watch it if someone sent me the link - i'm with you freedom, sadly, nothing shocks me that much anymore. 

[freedom78]

I just put her name into google: "Du?a Khalil Aswad".

I got a lot of hits...some just stories, but two or three with video downloads, on the first page of search results.

[The Dog]

I just watched 3 of 5 videos posted.  i had to turn it off.  really started to make me sick/deeply sad.  fucking savages.  i was borderline puking.

[SLCPUNK]

I can't watch something like that, knowing it is enough.

[badapple81]

Poor girl 

What a sick, disgusting bunch of people.

[mrlee]

yeah well, im sorry to say it, but over in that area of the world, people who follow religion seem to just be filthy savages.

its the 21st century, not medi-evil times.

[Grouse]

Just found a 10 min clip...couldn't even make it through the first 2 minutes?

Fucking disgusting throwing concrete blocks on the poor girls head....

Fucking primitive religion...

[Where is Hassan Nasrallah ?]

Just found a 10 min clip...couldn't even make it through the first 2 minutes?

Fucking disgusting throwing concrete blocks on the poor girls head....

Fucking primitive religion...

if it's about relitgion, how come 99% of muslims dont do that? or maybe they don't have video cameras ... my bad.

[freedom78]

Just found a 10 min clip...couldn't even make it through the first 2 minutes 

Fucking disgusting throwing concrete blocks on the poor girls head....

Fucking primitive religion...

if it's about relitgion, how come 99% of muslims dont do that? or maybe they don't have video cameras ... my bad.

The initial story says there are frequent reports of honor crimes.  I don't know exactly what "frequent" means, here, but this obviously isn't an isolated incident.  And I do think it can be "about religion" without being something that all or most or many people in a given religion participate in.  That said, I don't know or even think this is "about religion" as much as it's about a larger cultural gap, of which religion is one part.

[The Dog]

Just found a 10 min clip...couldn't even make it through the first 2 minutes 

Fucking disgusting throwing concrete blocks on the poor girls head....

Fucking primitive religion...

if it's about relitgion, how come 99% of muslims dont do that? or maybe they don't have video cameras ... my bad.

the girl was in love with a boy from a different religion - doesn't this make this incident even a LITTLE about religion to some degree?  Whether or not this is something that only happens amongst a small percentage of muslims I do not know, does anyone here know?

wat-ever it'd be refreshing to hear you condemn this at least instead of getting so defensive.  rather than be sarcastic and witty maybe you could enlighten people instead.  this video might be some peoples only exposure to muslims and you could easily see how people would have a strong emotional reaction to it.

[SLCPUNK]

Fucking primitive religion...

Primitive is an understatement.

[mrlee]

Just found a 10 min clip...couldn't even make it through the first 2 minutes 

Fucking disgusting throwing concrete blocks on the poor girls head....

Fucking primitive religion...

if it's about relitgion, how come 99% of muslims dont do that? or maybe they don't have video cameras ... my bad.

i dont think it was reported that muslims did this crime, however im willing to bet 99% of the muslims that live in those places are willing to do that type of stuff, they live in a place where they still think its 1504 or something.

[lastroots]

All Americans calling this primitive - you're right. But be aware that your own government supports the cruelest form of torture itself in Guanztanamo.

[lastroots]

Just found a 10 min clip...couldn't even make it through the first 2 minutes 

Fucking disgusting throwing concrete blocks on the poor girls head....

Fucking primitive religion...

if it's about relitgion, how come 99% of muslims dont do that? or maybe they don't have video cameras ... my bad.

i dont think it was reported that muslims did this crime, however im willing to bet 99% of the muslims that live in those places are willing to do that type of stuff, they live in a place where they still think its 1504 or something.

You don't know many muslims personally, do you?

[lastroots]

Another comment - everyone who blames this on the muslim religion has no idea of religion at all.

Blame it on primitive tradition and you're right. But it has nothing to do at all with Islam.