- YouTube star Tiba al-Ali, 22, was murdered by her father on January 31.
- Her father reportedly disapproved of her choice to live alone in Turkey.
- Al-Ali had amassed a fan base on YouTube, where she shared videos of her daily activities.
In Iraq, where alleged “honor killings” continue to occur, the death of a teenage YouTube star at the hands of her father has generated outrage.
On January 31 in the southern province of Diwaniya, Tiba al-Ali, 22, was murdered by her father, according to a tweet from interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan on Friday.
Al-Ali, who was visiting Iraq from Turkey, and her family had engaged in mediation efforts by police to “resolve the family disagreement in a final manner,” according to Maan.
Unverified audio recordings of al-Ali and her father seem to show that he disapproved of her choice to live alone in Turkey.
Maan said that after the police’s initial encounter with the family “we were surprised the next day … with the news of her killing at the hands of her father, as he admitted in his initial confessions”.
He omitted to elaborate on the specifics of the disagreement.
Al-Ali had amassed a fan base on YouTube, where she shared videos of her day-to-day activities in which her fiancé frequently made an appearance.
Meanwhile, a police source who spoke to Media under the condition of anonymity said that the “family quarrel” began in 2015.
Al-Ali visited Turkey in 2017 with her family, but upon their return, she declined to go with them and rather to stay in Turkey, where she has since lived, according to the police source.
لا شرف فيما يسمى جرائم الشرف .. الي يبرر للمج.رم الي قtل طيبه فا هو مج.رم و اسوا من المج.رم و الي يط..عن بشرف طيبه هذا بلا شرف هي الان عند رحمه الله الله يرحم طيبه و يغفر لها شهيده باذن الله وَمَن يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَآؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خلدا فيها #حق_طيبه pic.twitter.com/g6Why64m0B
— عراقي🇮🇶🇮🇶 (@AhmdYwss) February 4, 2023
[Translation: There is no honor in the so-called honor killings.. Whoever justifies the criminal. Whoever killed a good person is a criminal. Worse than a criminal. God willing, and whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell for eternity in it #حق_طيبه]
Domestic abuse is not now a crime in Iraq.
A proposed domestic abuse law was originally presented to parliament in 2014; however, because to strong political resistance from lawmakers who fear it will damage Iraq’s social fabric, work has stagnated.
Iraqis have taken to social media in outrage at Al-passing Ali’s and have called for demonstrations in the capital city of Baghdad on Sunday to demand justice for her passing.
“Women in our societies are hostage to backward customs due to the absence of legal deterrents and government measures – which currently are not commensurate with the size of domestic violence crimes,” wrote veteran politician Ala Talabani on Twitter.
Iraq: Action must be taken on gender-based violence after murder of Tiba Ali by her fatherhttps://t.co/mdWa2jRXGu
— Amnesty Iraq (@AmnestyIraq) February 4, 2023
Rights activist Hanaa Edwar told Media that, according to voice recordings attributed to the young woman, “she left her family … because she was sexually assaulted by her brother”.
The claim was also recorded by the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights. Media was unable to independently confirm the voice tapes’ veracity.
The “horrific” murder was condemned by Amnesty International, which also noted that “the Iraqi legal system still treats leniently so called “honor crimes” involving severe acts like assault and even murder.”
“Until the Iraqi authorities adopt robust legislation to protect women and girls … we will inevitably continue to witness horrific murders,” Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Aya Majzoub, said.
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