Jordan woman killed in hospital over pregnancy

A Jordanian man was charged on Sunday with killing his 24-year-old widowed daughter in hospital after she gave birth to twins, a judicial official said. "Amman's criminal court prosecutor charged the man with premeditated murder after he confessed to shooting dead his daughter on Saturday," in Deir Alla in the Jordan Valley, the official told AFP. The official quoted the suspect as saying "I was shocked that she was pregnant. I was enraged and shot her dead because she did something shameful." The woman has been a widow for four years. "The man claimed he wanted to check on the condition of his daughter ... then he shot her in the head," said Ahmad Hwarat, head of the hospital where the killing took place. Murder is punishable by death in Jordan but in so-called "honour killings" courts can commute or reduce sentences, particularly if the victim's family asks for leniency. Between 15 and 20 women died in such murders each year in the Arab kingdom, despite government efforts to curb such crimes.