Christian man in Israel charged with murdering daughter ‘over Muslim boyfriend’

DUBAI: A Christian man in Israel has been charged with murdering his daughter in a suspected honor killing after he objected to her relationship with a Muslim.
Sami Karra denied killing his 17-year-old daughter, Henriette, after prosecutors described the incident as a suspected honor killing.
Israeli media outlets reported that the indictment said that the teenage girl’s Israeli Arab family rejected her relationship with the Muslim man who was serving time in prison.
According to Israeli media outlets, the year-long relationship had triggered opposition from relatives and led the teenager to flee her home in May and send messages to a friend claiming “they are sending people to kill me.”
Israeli social services and police intervened and summoned the parents and Henriette to a meeting on June 11, two days before she was killed.
On June 13, she deposited 400 shekels ($112) into her boyfriend’s prison canteen account, returned home and reportedly told a relative that she intended to convert to Islam.
Haaretz newspaper reported that the relative called Henriette’s father to tell him of her conversion plans.
The teenager was found dead in her parents’ home in the town of Ramle with stab wounds to the neck.
“The defendant decided to cause the death of the deceased and in order to realize his goal he was equipped with a knife,” the indictment reportedly said.
However, lawyers representing Karra said his relationship with his daughter was “no secret” and added: “This did not lead to murder and could not lead to murder. The complaints against (Henriette) were only to reunite the family.”