Murder of Banaz Mahmod

Banaz Mahmod (بەناز مەحمود, 16 December 1985 – 24 January 2006) was a 20-year-old Iraqi Kurdish woman who lived in Mitcham, South London, England.

She was murdered on the orders of her family in a so-called honour killing because she ended a violent and abusive forced marriage and started a relationship with someone of her own choosing.

Her father, uncle and three cousins were later convicted of her murder.

The Mahmods were a strictly traditional Iraqi/Kurdish family from the rural Mirawdale tribal area of Qaladiza in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Mahmod Babakir Mahmod and his wife Behya had a son and five daughters.

The family sought asylum in the United Kingdom in 1995 when Banaz was ten years old.

Mahmod was the eldest of four brothers living in the south London area; although he was the eldest, the role of head of the family was taken by his younger brother, Ari Agha Mahmod.

Banaz's eldest sister had an arranged marriage as did her younger sister Payman (also known as Payzee), who was married at the age of 16 to a man fifteen years her senior.

Bekhal, two years older than Banaz, fled the family home in 2002 and spent time in foster care.

The eldest four daughters, including Banaz, were subject to female genital mutilation.

Bekhal reported that she had been subjected to physical abuse and threats because she mixed with people her family did not approve of and experimented with Western clothing and hairstyles.

She reported that an attempt was made to kill her and that her father threatened to kill her mother, sisters and himself if she did not return to the family home.

Instead of returning home, Bekhal lived in hiding, constantly moving and never leaving the house without wearing a full veil.

Mahmod Babakir Mahmod's failure to control Bekhal was viewed as weakness within the Kurdish community, and he was subjected to a degree of ostracism as a result.

At age 16/17, Banaz was forced into an arranged marriage with a man from the family hometown of Qaladiza.

By her account he was 10 years her senior, illiterate and old-fashioned; she described his mindset as something from "fifty years prior".

She came into contact with police throughout her marriage, reporting that she had been raped and beaten on multiple occasions.

Her family were aware of the violence inflicted upon her, but told her that leaving her husband would bring shame on them.

Despite this, and with the abuse continuing, she eventually left after two years of marriage; she returned to the family home in July 2005 and started a relationship with someone of her own choosing by the name of Rahmat Sulemani.

Both Banaz's uncle, Ari Agha Mahmod, and father Mahmod disapproved of her actions and had been informed that Banaz and Rahmat had remained in a relationship despite their claims to the contrary.

On 2 December 2005, a meeting was held at the home of Ari Agha Mahmod where it was agreed that both should be killed for bringing shame onto the family and the community.

Fearing for her safety, Banaz went to the police to report that her uncle had threatened to kill both her and her boyfriend, apparently learning of the plot after overhearing a phone call between her uncle and mother on 2 December.

On 12 December, she delivered a letter to Wimbledon Police Station naming those she claimed were ready to kill her.

On New Year's Eve, the police were called to a café in Wimbledon where Banaz had arrived in a distressed state saying that her father had tried to kill her.

She was under the influence of alcohol, which her father had made her drink, and had injuries to her hands, having smashed a window during her escape.

While witnesses described Banaz as distraught and terrified by café and hospital staff, the policewoman who interviewed her, PC Angela Cornes, did not believe her.

She referred to her as "manipulative" and "melodramatic", and wanted to charge her with criminal damage for breaking the window.

Whilst in hospital Banaz gave an account of events to her boyfriend, which he recorded on his phone and later handed to the police.

On 22 January, an attempt was made to kidnap Rahmat Sulemani.

Three of the men involved were among those whom Banaz had already named to the police; both she and Rahmat separately reported the incident, and Mahmod Banaz was scheduled to return to the police station on 24 January, but she never arrived.

On the morning of 24 January 2006, Banaz's parents left the family home to take their youngest daughter to school and go shopping, leaving Banaz asleep in the lounge.

Mohamad Marid Hama, Mohammed Saleh Ali and Omar Hussain arrived at the property shortly thereafter; according to covert recordings made of Hama speaking with a visitor while he was on remand, the trio subjected Banaz to more than two hours of rape and torture before she was strangled with a ligature.

Banaz's body was put in a suitcase, transported to a house in Handsworth, Birmingham and buried in the garden.

On 25 January 2006, Banaz was reported missing by Sulemani, who had become concerned for her welfare after being unable to contact her.

The police did not initially take the report seriously.

Her parents portrayed themselves as an easy-going, tolerant family, claiming that Banaz often stayed out overnight, and insistent that she was not a missing person.

Rahmat persisted, however, "harassing" the police into taking action.

Consequently, her parents and uncle were interviewed and their homes searched.

The interviews exposed inconsistencies in the account originally given by her parents and analysis of Sulemani's phone records indicated that Banaz's father was not the indulgent parent he claimed to be.

Cross-checking against the numerous contacts Banaz had already had with the police enabled them to compile a list of persons of interest.