A German court sentenced a man of Turkish origin to more than nine years in prison yesterday for the so-called ?honour killing? of his sister last year but found two other brothers not guilty of conspiring in the murder.

The murder of 23-year-old Hatun Surucu, who was shot while standing at a bus stop in a Berlin suburb last year, shocked Germany and raised intense debate about a conservative Muslim immigrant community at odds with mainstream society.

Ayhan Surucu, who had confessed to pulling the trigger, was sentenced to nine years and three months, close to the 10-year maximum allowable as he was a minor at the time of the killing.

His brothers, Mutlu and Alpaslan, who were accused of aiding their brother in the murder, were found not guilty. Prosecutors said the Surucu brothers felt dishonoured by their sister, who lived on her own with her 5-year-old son after leaving a cousin she had been forced to marry as a young girl.