June
12, 2007
London, UK, -- Police are failing to protect
young women at risk of being murdered by their
families in so-called "honour" killings, despite a
high-profile prevention scheme set up four years
ago, senior officers have told the Guardian. They
say a raft of measures aimed at saving lives have
been shelved, delayed or ignored by Scotland Yard.
Among them were plans to train frontline staff in
how to spot vulnerable women and a system to ensure
potential victims of "honour"-based violence were
risk-assessed and properly dealt with.
The admissions came as the Metropolitan police were
criticised for their handling of the case of Banaz
Mahmod, a young Kurdish woman whose father and uncle
were yesterday convicted of her murder. One
detective, who asked not to be named, said that if
the Met prevention scheme had been in place Ms
Mahmod might be alive today.
He said: "We started to learn lessons and then
stopped learning them as a result of political
correctness. And then Banaz died and that should
never have happened."
A lack of formal training for officers had also
resulted in a "police station lottery", where women
like Ms Mahmod were in danger of being ignored or
not given adequate protection.
Another officer said: "If it were young white girls
complaining that their lives were at risk, there
would be an outcry."
In the Mahmod case, the Old Bailey heard that she
had repeatedly told police her family was trying to
kill her.
Banaz Mahmod, 20, told officers on at least four
occasions between December 4 2005 and January 23
2006, about threats made. She wrote a letter, naming
those she thought were plotting against her.
On New Year's Eve that year, she told them her
father had tried to kill her but the officer did not
take her claims seriously.
Her body was found months later on April 28 2006,
crammed into a suitcase and buried in a pit, the
bootlace used to strangle her still around her neck.
Yesterday, after a three-month Old Bailey trial, her
father, Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and her uncle, Ari Mahmod,
51, both of Mitcham, south London, were found guilty
of murdering her.
A third man, Mohamad Hama, 30, had earlier pleaded
guilty to her murder.
Detective Inspector Caroline Goode, in charge of the
investigation, said Ms Mahmod was a loving and
caring young woman whose death at the hands of her
family was the "ultimate betrayal".
A number of police officers will face an internal
disciplinary inquiry over their handling of Ms
Mahmod's case in the weeks before she died. Their
actions will also be the subject of a police-led
investigation under the Domestic Violence Crime and
Victims Act.
The inquiry will look at whether police might have
increased the risk to Ms Mahmod by speaking to her
parents after the New Year's Eve incident, or by
approaching her mother on an earlier occasion. Met
guidelines on such investigations clearly state: "Do
not approach the family."
The Met began a review of the way it handles
"honour" killing cases after the murder of
Kurdish-born teenager Heshu Yones in 2002. Her
father, Abdalla, became the first person to be
convicted of an "honour" killing in Britain in 2003.
In 2003 a strategy to deal with such crimes included
recommendations for training all officers and a
"flag" system for "honour"-based violence. But it
was not introduced until last year. |
Banaz Mahmod Babakir Agha, Found dead The daughter,
who had left her husband
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 |
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