Jordan: Activists seek stiffer sentences for honor killings

AMMAN, Jordan – Rights activists in Jordan have called for stiffer punishment for family violence, after four women and a man were killed in so-called honor crimes in a week.

The latest case involved two sisters, aged 27 and 34, allegedly shot dead by two of their brothers and the husband of the younger woman.

The Jordan Times reported Monday that the older woman died instantly last week and the younger died three days later. The daily say the suspects were charged with premeditated murder.

Jordan has reformed its penal code which allowed lenient sentences for killings over "family honor," but loopholes remain.

Asma Khader, who heads a women's advocacy group, said Monday that the minimum sentence for killings in a "fit of fury" must be raised from three to seven years.