A horrific crime occurred in the Sahra neighborhood of Shweifat, resulting in the death of Zainab Ali Zaiter (26 years old, Lebanese) and a mother of three children, at the hands of her husband, Hassan Moussa Zaiter (27 years old, Lebanese) from Hadath Baalbek. The husband fired about ten bullets toward his wife, instantly killing her. Security forces and criminal investigations soon arrived at the crime scene, and the victim, disfigured due to gunfire wounds to the head and eyes, was transported to the hospital.
The crime took place between 2:30 AM and 3 AM, when the perpetrator was sitting with friends at a nearby café. He received a call from an unknown person, prompting him to run home. Minutes later, the crime was committed.
Most neighbors near the couple's apartment reported that the husband had been suffering from several neurological disorders for a long time and could not bear receiving a call from an unknown person informing him about his wife's infidelity. It was circulated that the motive was the husband's search of his wife's phone (which reportedly disappeared from the crime scene), finding pictures of her without a headscarf. This provoked him to kill his wife in front of their children, the oldest of whom is just seven years old.
While the husband fled from the security forces, who issued a search warrant for him, the victim's brother, Hassan Ali Zaiter, refused to hold a mourning session for his sister until he avenged her death. Meanwhile, the killer remains at large, and the fate of their three children is unknown.
It is worth noting that Article 562 of the Lebanese Penal Code addressed "honor crimes," allowing the perpetrator to benefit from extenuating circumstances; it exonerates anyone who surprises their spouse, direct ancestors, descendants, or sister in the act of adultery or illegal intercourse, and proceeds to kill or harm them unintentionally. However, under Law No. 7/99, issued on February 20, 1999, Article 562 was abolished and replaced with the following text: "Those who surprise their spouse, direct ancestors, descendants, or sister in a witnessed act of adultery or illicit intercourse and proceed to kill or harm them unintentionally, may benefit from extenuating circumstances." This amendment altered the extenuating excuse to become a mitigating excuse and canceled the second paragraph of the old Article 562.
One member of the Zaiter family killed his wife, the mother of his children, with ten shots. Some clan members are spreading videos of the victim's brother opening the killer's café as a sign that there are no blood feuds or problems between them after the crime because he said he "restored their honor." The video shows men gathering in the café owned by the husband, supporting the brother and congratulating him on a decision they claim "raises their honor."
Meanwhile, voices have risen condemning the event under the hashtag "Stop Killing Women," in a country where murder cases have become easier than "taking a sip of water." Daily, young girls and wives are being taken away, and gatherings of men and youths celebrating the act reveal a disturbing acceptance of such violence.
