Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Dad burns 15-year-old daughter to death (Yemen)

UNNAMED DAD

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/father-burned-15-year-old-daughter-death-talking-fiance-yemen-authorities-article-1.1493743

Father burned 15-year-old daughter to death for talking to fiance: Yemen authorities 

The man allegedly set the teen on fire after he caught her talking on the phone with her betrothed, officials said.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013, 9:35 AM

A man burned his 15-year-old daughter to death after he caught her talking on the phone with her fiance.

DUBAI — A father burned his 15-year-old daughter to death for keeping in touch with her fiance, police in Yemen said.

"The father committed this heinous crime on the pretext that his daughter had been keeping contacts with her fiance," according to a statement posted on a police website Tuesday. It added that the 35-year-old man had been arrested in a remote village in the central Taiz province.

Local news websites reported that the father had caught the girl chatting on the phone with her betrothed.

Her death sparked further outrage in the country where an eight-year girl died from internal bleeding on her wedding night last month. Authorities said they would prosecute those responsible.

Traditional tribal customs in parts of Yemen prohibit contacts between men and women before marriage. Poverty and concern about "family honor" prompts many Yemenis to marry off their daughters young, often below the age of 18, a practice that has been criticized by groups like Human Rights Watch.