Pela Atroshi (12 October 1979 – 24 June 1999) was a 19-year-old Iraqi Kurd from Farsta, Sweden. She was murdered in an honor killing by family members after being taken from Sweden to Dohuk in Iraq. She was deemed to have brought shame on the family by moving out of the family home and trying to achieve some independence.
Two of Pela's uncles, Dakhaz Atroshi and Rezkar Atroshi, were convicted of her murder in Sweden and were sentenced to life in prison, later commuted to 24 and 25 years respectively. Pela's father, Agid Atroshi, was tried in Iraq and was given a suspended sentence as the court concluded that his motive was "honorable".
Background
Pela was the oldest of 7 children. Pela and her family moved to Sweden from Iraq in 1995. The family settled in Farsta where she and her younger sister, Breen Atroshi, attended school. Described as "sociable and popular", Pela initially thrived at school and achieved good grades, and both her and her sister embraced their new life.
Their father, Agid Atroshi, fearing that they might do something to undermine the family reputation, introduced stringent rules in an effort to stop them from "living the European way". The girls were not permitted to go to cafés or shops, as their peers did, and their father timed them to make sure they came straight home from school.
Pela started to challenge her father's rules, wanting to make her own decisions about where she went and what she wore, but this just resulted in stricter rules being imposed; he stopped the girls from going to parties and banned them from going on school trips. The quarrels between Pela and her father escalated until she moved out of the family home. An unmarried female staying away from home is frowned upon — Breen Atroshi claimed that her uncle Dakhaz told her that sleeping away from home for just one night would deserve death.
After Pela moved out her grandfather and uncle travelled to Sweden from Australia and along with her other paternal uncles, Dakhaz and Rezkar Atroshi, visited the family to discuss with her father how they should handle Pela's behaviour.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Yakin Ertürk, reported that she was told that a "family council of male relatives living in Sweden and Australia decided that Pela had to die to cleanse the family honour".
Pela eventually returned home of her own accord as she missed her family. A plan was already in place, however, to take her back to Dohuk, where the family were well respected and honor crimes were treated leniently.
Murder
In June 1999, shortly after Pela returned home, the family traveled to Iraq together with her paternal uncles, Shivan, Rezkar and Dakhaz Atroshi. Agid Atroshi later claimed that the purpose of the visit to Iraq was to arrange a suitable marriage for Pela.
Conflict and quarrels followed and Pela was accused of not living according to Kurdish values.
On 24 June 1999, Pela was shot twice in her back in an upstairs room of the family home. The shooting was carried out by Rezkar Atroshi. Pela's sister Breen testified that she and her mother had tried to go to Pela's aid, but that her uncles, and father, had physically separated them while Rezkar shot Pela through the head.
Legal proceedings
Dohuk
In October 1999, Agid and Rezcar Atroshi stood trial for Pela's murder. Agid claimed that he killed Pela and that he did it because her attempts to follow western traditions disgraced the family, and also claimed that she'd lost her virginity. When sentencing the two men, the judge noted that the "motive for the killing was honourable" as it was carried out to "cleanse the family of dishonour"; they received a twelve-month conditional (suspended) sentence.
After Pela's murder, Breen contacted Swedish authorities from Iraq and told them what she'd witnessed, naming all three of her uncles as being involved in the murder, including two who had since returned to Sweden.
Sweden
After receiving a suspended sentence for murdering Pela, Rezkar Atroshi returned to Sweden, along with his brother Dakhaz. As the murder was planned in Sweden and both the perpetrators and victim were Swedish citizens, the authorities decided to pursue the brothers in a Swedish court.
The then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Anna Lindh, took an interest in the case and silent diplomacy enabled the authorities to bring sister Breen Atroshi back from Kurdistan.