Jordanian man kills sister over pregnancy

JORDAN: A Jordanian man has murdered his sister after learning that she had become pregnant by a man before marrying him, the…

JORDAN: A Jordanian man has murdered his sister after learning that she had become pregnant by a man before marrying him, the Jordan Times has reported, quoting officials.

Suwad Mahmoud (24) was strangled by her 20-year-old brother with a telephone cord at their parents' house on Sunday night.

The brother, whose name was not given, was later arrested at the home by police. Suwad married her neighbour in July after her family discovered that she had had a relationship with him.

A week later, the family learned that she had been pregnant for several months. Suwad is the ninth woman reportedly killed in an honour crime in Jordan since the beginning of the year.

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In December 2001, the Jordanian cabinet modified the law on honour crimes, which stipulated that those accused of killing a female relative "caught in the act of adultery" or even in a situation deemed "immoral", could be exempted from heavy sentences, such as death.