The invention relates to the field of minimally invasive surgical and interventional cardiology devices for heart valve repair. It particularly relates to an instrument for repairing an atrioventricular heart valve, mitral heart valve or also the tricuspid heart valve in a minimally invasive manner, and to an according method. In particular, the instrument comprises a first tube having a tube axis defining an axial direction; a leaflet grabbing structure arranged at a distal part of the first tube and contiguous to the first tube, the leaflet grabbing structure comprising a main body and a jaw, the jaw being movable relative to the main body; wherein the jaw comprises a first proximally facing abutment surface and the main body comprises a second distally facing abutment surface; the instrument further comprising a needle, wherein the needle is cannulated and forms an inner tube, and wherein the needle is releasable from the first tube and movable relative to the main body in axial directions, whereby the leaflet grabbing structure is capable of clamping a leaflet of the heart valve between the first and second abutment surfaces; and wherein the jaw being formed to allow the needle to extend therethrough while the leaflet is being clamped.