SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Police in Erbil have detained a suspect over the killing of a 20-year-old woman, Esta Media Network reporter said.
Iman Sami Maghdid, known as Maria, was shot dead by assailants on Erbil’s 100 meters street late on Sunday, according to police.
Police have started an investigation into the woman’s death and that her brother and uncle were identified by police as the “main suspects”, Esta’s reporter said.
“Maria’s uncle was detained, but the second suspect who is her brother has yet to be arrested,” the reporter cited police as saying.
“Maria had been under surveillance by her family continuously,” the reporter said. “The suspects had asked her to get into their vehicle when they went to the area on Sunday night, but Maria had refused to do so. They shot her there.”
Maria was a well-known TikToker with a platform of over 55.6K followers. She took to social media to rebel against the community’s narratives.
At least eleven women have been killed in the Kurdistan Region since January, according to the parliament’s committee on protection of women’s rights.
In November, the General Directorate to Combat Violence against Women and Family said there were 328 cases of violence against women in the past 10 months, including 40 cases of murdering.
