A young Afghan refugee in Austria has received a sentence of life in prison for stabbing his sister to death in a so-called "honor killing."
A court in Vienna issued the sentence on August 22 against the Afghan man, who said he stabbed his sister 28 times "because of culture" in order to protect what he said was his family’s sense of honor.
Authorities have not released the name of the killer or his sister, who was 14 years old when she was bludgeoned to death on her way to school in September 2017.
The victim had moved into a crisis center in Vienna about a week before she’d been killed, saying that she felt cornered and "pressured" by her family because she was not allowed to go out and meet with her girlfriends.
The court hear that when the killer confessed to police, he told authorities: "It is good that she is dead. She stained our family’s honor."
The killer claimed that under Austria law, he should not receive a life sentence because he is now only 19 years old.
But the court rejected that claim after a panel of experts testified that he is 21 years old.