"Honor and pride"

Syrian father threatened his daughter with death

Salzburg Provincial Court

(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

A Syrian man wanted his daughter (23), who lives and works independently, to give up her apartment and move back home. After his conviction, he continued to rant in the Salzburg courtroom: "I want to disown her."

"You'll get shots in the stomach, I'll hire an Afghan to kill you. I'll show you another face": a Syrian father made these exaggerated death threats to his own daughter and also spoke of "honor and pride" during the argument on 3 October.

And all of this happened right at her workplace, a restaurant in Salzburg. A witness filmed the whole thing. Now, on Tuesday, the previously blameless Syrian - who came here with the wave of refugees in 2015 - sat before Judge Anna-Sophia Hofer in Salzburg Provincial Court. And he admitted to the charge of aggravated coercion.

Defendant justifies himself: "She wasn't honest"
 The defense lawyer said that he had "seen red" because his daughter had broken off contact and didn't mean anything by it. The father of three was less remorseful in his own statements: "We have Arab culture. We submit to traditions, like honesty in the family. My daughter wasn't honest with me for three years." Because the 23-year-old, who wants to live independently, had lied to him, the patriarch, he threatened her with death. Judge Hofer immediately sentenced the man to nine months' conditional imprisonment. And she emphasized: "The daughter did nothing wrong. Here, in Austria, she has the right to freedom. And that's where the father's influence ends."

Instead of showing understanding, the man went one better: "I want to disown my daughter. I want her to no longer bear my surname." But the judge intervened with clear words: "A woman's name is her most personal right."