Police returned her to her father on Sunday after he was shown the results of
the tests and "signed a guarantee in front of the administrative governor that
he would not harm his daughter," Obeidat said.
The father took his daughter to downtown Zarqa market and bought her new
clothes and took her home. As soon as they arrived to the house, he beat her to
death with a crowbar, then turned himself in to police and confessed, saying it
was to restore family honor, Obeidat said.
At least 10 women are known to have been slain in "honor killings" in Jordan
this year. Jordan had 17 reported honor killings in 2003, and 22 in 2002. Many
more are believed to go unreported.
The practice is not uncommon in traditional, male-dominated Arab societies,
where women are killed, mostly by brothers and fathers, for having sex outside
marriage, dating, simply talking to men or even for being raped.
Obeidat, who participated in the autopsy of the slain girl, said she had
received several blows on the back of her head and on the face.
She ran away from home in Zarqa, 27 kilometers (17 miles) northeast of Amman,
with her mute sister - who still has not been found. The 16-year-old told
police she and her sister were escaping from their abusive father who had taken
a second wife and had neglected them.
In April, the US-based Human Rights Watch issued a report accusing the
Jordanian government of failing to protect women from male relatives who
threaten and kill them in "honor" crimes. Last September, Jordanian lawmakers
rejected legislative amendments aiming to set harsher punishments for honor
crime offenders. Under the country's existing penal code, people found guilty
of committing honor crimes can receive sentences as light as six months in
jail.
Associated Press
