Official Definition of Honor Killing

It's not clear what benefit is to be derived by having an official definition for honor killing. Nevertheless, here it is. It comes from the Culture Manager for Sanliurfa Province, a region abutting the border with Syria in southeastern Turkey.

From Sabah:

"Honor killing applies to the ones escaping from their homes or betraying their wives or husbands. It does not apply to innocent ones."

As a definition, it's quite vague. It's also useless if one believes, as I do, that honor killing is simply murder.

However, it's worthwhile to note that within the context of the above definition, or an interpretation thereof, a reported 1,806 murders were committed in Turkey between 2001 and 2006.