The discovery of the body of a 16 year old girl buried alive in the South Eastern province of Turkey has started new debates of honour killings in the country.

The body of the girl was found in a 2 metre hole dug under a chicken pen after an informant told the police of the gruesome killing which has started broad outcry of honour killing in Turkey.

It is said that the girl of only 16 years old was put into the hole by members of her own family after a council meeting found her guilty of merely speaking with boys and have a relationships with some.

It has been reported that the father of the teenager was unhappy with his daughter, 1 of 9 children, because she had to many male friends.

It was claimed that the father had beaten the child in many occasions though there were no bruising when the body was found, the post-mortem found there was a large amount of soil in her stomach and lungs indicating she was still alive when buried.

The girl who was identified as MM, was found in the hole in a sitting position with her hands tied to stop her from escaping. Her family had reported her as missing.

Her father and grandfather are said to have been arrested and held in custody pending trial. It is unclear whether they have been charged. The girl’s mother was arrested but was later released.

It is thought that many honour killings such as this occur in Turkey, in particularly the Southern Eastern regions of the country in uneducated  families and villagers.

The official figures released for 2009 showed that 200 such killings take place each year, accounting for around half of all murders in Turkey.

There is also concern that many similar incidents do not get reported and the official figure may be much higher.

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