June
11, 2007
London, UK, -- A Kurdish man was convicted in
a London court on Monday of murdering his
20-year-old daughter in a so-called "honour killing"
because she had left her husband and fallen in love
with another man.
Banaz Mahmod was garrotted in her home in London,
her body was stuffed in a suitcase and taken more
than 120 miles to Birmingham, where it was buried in
the back garden of a house.
Mahmod Mahmod, 52, ordered his own daughter's murder
with the help of his brother Ari Mahmod, 51, with
the killing itself carried out by their associate
Mohamad Hama, 30, and two other suspects who are
still at large.
Banaz's body was only found in April 2006, months
after she was killed.
"Banaz was a caring, loving young woman with the
whole of her life in front of her and that life has
been brutally cut short by the very people that
should have loved her and protected her," said
Detective Inspector Caroline Goode.
"In any terms, the ultimate betrayal."
The court had been told that Banaz had been forced
to marry an Iraqi Kurd when she was 17 but the
relationship collapsed and she returned to live with
her parents in 2005, later falling in love with
Rahmat Suleimani.
Her family decided to kill her because they believed
the relationship had shamed them as Suleimani was an
Iranian Kurd and not a strict Muslim.
"I don't think I have loved anyone as much as I have
loved Banaz," Suleimani said in a statement.
"She was my first love. She meant the world to me."
Honour killings were almost unheard of in Britain
until a few years ago but police and the Crown
Prosecution Service now estimate there are about a
dozen such murders a year.
Campaigners say that the issue was misunderstood and
that the authorities had been unwilling to get
involved in minority community matters for fear of
being culturally insensitive.
Indeed, Banaz had contacted police a number of times
before her death, saying her life was at risk, but
no action was taken.
"Banaz contacted the (police) on a number of
occasions and we did take action in all of those
cases. Whether those actions were appropriate will
be a matter for the Directorate of Professional
Standards review," said Commander Simon Bray. |
Banaz Mahmod Babakir Agha, Found dead The daughter,
who had left her husband
The father- Mahmod Mahmod, who denies murder
A combination of undated handout images showing (L)
Ari Mahmod and Mahmod Mahmod, released to Reuters on
June 11, 2007. Mahmod Mahmod was convicted in a
London court on Monday of murdering his 20-year-old
daughter in a so-called "honour killing" because she
had left her husband and fallen in love with another
man. Reuters |
®