IRANIAN AND KURDISH WOMEN’S RIGHTS ORGANISATION
http://www.ikwro.org.uk, Tel: 02074900303

PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The dishonour of murder

Today in the Old Bailey, the jury deciding the case of the murder of 20 year old Banaz Mahmod handed out a guilty verdict on the young woman’s father and uncle, accused of a so-called ‘honour’ killing.
Banaz was strangled with a bootlace and her body; naked except for her knickers was crammed into a suitcase which was buried in a garden in Birmingham, her grave marked only by a pile of trash to conceal the disturbed earth. This murder was committed under the orders of her father Mahmod Mahmod and her uncle Ari Mahmod, members of London’s growing Kurdish community. The brothers tried to present themselves in court as urbane and sophisticated men and their culture as one in which so-called ‘honour’ crimes were firmly in the past. However, ‘honour’ killing is actually very much a part of present-day life in Kurdistan, where the UN has reported 40 murders in the name of honour in Iraqi Kurdistan in just three months, and where recently, horrifically, 17 year old Du’a Khalil was stoned to death by her family in the streets of Bashiqa as hundreds of men captured her agony on their mobile phones, and is as much part of life in the diasporas communities, as the names of Heshu Yunes, Fadime Sahindal and Hatun Surrucu attest.
Banaz was just 17 years old when she was placed in an arranged marriage to a man she had met just three times, a man who was brutally abusive to her. Her divorce, the case she was bringing against her ex-husband for assault and rape, and the subsequent relationship she formed with a man of her own choosing were thought to have brought such shame upon the family that only her death could restore their position within the community. This murder was planned and executed and concealed by a wide network of family members and associates of Ari Mahmod demonstrating a wide support for such murders within a significant sector of the Kurdish community.
While IKWRO congratulate the police and the CPS in bringing these murderers to justice, there remain faults in their dealings with Banaz. While alive, Banaz approached the police to make her fears known on numerous occasions and police response to the young woman was not always appropriate. When Banaz reported an earlier attempt on her life made by her father, she was branded ‘hysterical and melodramatic’ by the officer who did not take the case any
further. London Met had numerous chances to intervene which could have potentially saved her life and failed to do so. Also, while the murder may have been masterminded by Ari and Mahmod Mahmod, it is believed that two of the men who carried out the murder have fled to Iraqi Kurdistan and that attempts to extradite them have failed. These two individuals should not have been permitted to leave the country. Iraqi Kurdistan may have formally rescinded those articles of the penal code which give nugatory sentences to those who kill in the name of so-called family ‘honour’, yet there is widespread corruption and acceptance of such brutality which makes it a safe haven for many murderers. IKWRO call for a full investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and urge the Crown prosecution Service to bring the remaining suspects to justice.
IKWRO urge the judge not to make any consideration in sentencing for so-called ‘cultural differences’ as was the case in the sentencing of Abdallah Yunes, who murdered his daughter Heshu. Such actions only confirm the impression within the community that these crimes are, in some sense, accepted in the way they are in their countries of origin and that here, as in Kurdistan, weighed against a culture of male domination, the life of a Kurdish woman is worth very little. This crime was serious and premeditated and sentencing should reflect that, as well as expressing the repulsion shared by British society and progressive Kurds and to send a message that such crimes will not be tolerated in our communities.

“Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation” (IKWRO) is a nonprofit charity Organisation
that works to help and support women who are in danger of “honour killings”, forced marriage and
domestic violence. We promote to influence mainstream society, raising awareness both within the
communities and with policy makers.

The “International Campaign against Honour Killings” (ICAHK) is an independent and non-government
network that aims to raise an international awareness about the violence against women particularly
“honour killings”.
Our slogan is Save Lives!

For more information and petition, please contact:
Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation
90 Central Street, London EC1V 8AQ
Diana Nammi at: justiceforbanaz@yahoo.com