One day passed after the Jordanian parliament’s refusal to increase the penalties for those who commit “honor killings,” and yet another one has occurred.

Three brothers hacked their two sisters to death in Jordan in an “honour killing”, one day after parliament rejected tougher sentences for such crime, officials are quoted as saying.

The unidentified sisters, aged 20 and 27, were killed with axes in the capital Amman on Monday, according to a report in the Jordan Times newspaper.

Officials told the paper the three brothers – who are in detention – admitted that they carried out the killing for reasons of “family honour”.

On Sunday Jordan’s parliament rejected a bill imposing harsher penalties for such killings, which are often carried out by brothers and fathers against women deemed to have soiled the family’s reputation.

The 27-year-old left her family home nearly two years ago to marry a man without her family’s consent, the paper says.

Her 20-year-old sister ran away three months ago to join her.

Tipped on their whereabouts, the brothers went to their home with axes, and hacked their sisters to death, the paper says.

“It was a brutal scene. One victim’s head was nearly cut clean off,” an official is quoted as saying.

There is no honor here.

Wednesday, September 10th, 2003, 8:29 am   |   Middle East Bites  |  RSS feed Comments and pings are currently closed.