A JORDANIAN court sentenced a 19-year-old man to 10 years in jail for stabbing his sister to death in order to cleanse the family honour, a judicial official said today.
The defendant turned himself in to police after killing his 22-year-old sister last year for her many unexplained absences from home, said the official, who requested anonymity.
"The court sentenced the defendant to 15 years in prison for premeditated murder but reduced the sentence to 10 years after the family dropped any legal claims against him," the source said.
Murder is punishable by death in Jordan but in so-called honour cases courts sometimes commute or reduce sentences, particularly if the victim's family urges leniency.
Between 15 and 20 women are murdered in honour killings each year in Jordan despite government efforts to fight such crimes.
In September 2009, the US-based Human Rights Watch urged Jordan to reform its penal code, which it said condones the murder of women as honour crimes.
