Three 'honor' murderers jailed for life

Three men who murdered a young Kurdish woman in an "honor killing" during which she was tortured and raped were on July 20 sentenced to life imprisonment. Her father, uncle and a family associate were all convicted of what an Old Bailey judge described as a "callous murder." The men strangled Banaz Mahmod, 20, in January 2006 because they disapproved of her boyfriend. Her body was found three months later in a suitcase buried in a pit in Birmingham. The victim's father, Mahmod Mahmod, who ordered the killing, was told he would serve a minimum of 20 years. His brother Ari Mahmod will spend a minimum of 23 years behind bars, while the third murderer, Mohamad Hama, will not be eligible for release for 17 years. Sentencing them on July 20 at the Old Bailey, Brian Barker, the common sergeant of London, said: "This was a barbaric and callous crime. "You are hard and unswerving men to whom apparently the respect from the community is more important that your own flesh and blood." Banaz's boyfriend, Rahmat Sulemani, also a Kurd, said her murder had ruined his life and he had tried to kill himself several times. "She was the sweetest person in the world. She was my future," he said. "Banaz and I were in love. My life very much depended on Banaz's life. We were going to get married and have children. We hoped for a girl and boy and had even chosen their names." Mr Sulemani said he was tortured by the thought of what happened to his lover in her final hours. "I don't want to think about what happened to her but I cannot get it out of my mind. I am still having nightmares about what happened to Banaz." On July 19 the Old Bailey heard how Hama, 30, of West Norwood, boasted how he had finally stamped on Ms Mahmod's neck to "get her soul out." Hama, an associate of Mahmod Mahmod, laughed and joked as he described how they subjected her to a series of degrading acts of sexual violence during a two-hour ordeal in her home. The murder was planned and ordered by her father, Mahmod Mahmod, 50, of Wimbledon, and his brother Ari Mahmod, 52, of Mitcham, after she fell in love with a man they deemed unsuitable. The full details of her killing emerged in a pre-sentence hearing on July 19 to decide what part Hama had played. He pleaded guilty to murder, and the prosecution said he took part but claimed he only helped bury the body. Hama's account was secretly taped by police during prison visits after his arrest in February 2006, the court heard. "Her soul wouldn't leave the body. It took half an hour," he told an unnamed visitor to Belmarsh prison, believed to have been a relative. "I was kicking and stamping on her neck to get her soul out." He described how he stood with one foot on her back as another man prepared the ligature that would kill her, how he "shut her up quickly" and how she had vomited. Victor Temple, QC, prosecuting, said: "Hama is no doubt speaking about how long it took to murder her. There is laughter. That is nothing to do with the burial. It's the placing of the foot so Hama could pull the ligature." The court was told that Ms Mahmod's body was found clad only in pants. He told the court that none of the defendants had expressed the slightest remorse for the "cold-blooded and callously executed" murder. In one taped conversation Hama referred to a series of sexually abusive acts carried out on Ms Mahmod over more than two hours. No evidence of sexual abuse was put forward in the trial. In another he described how he helped drag her body from her home in Morden to a waiting car. Amid laughter, Hama said: "The road was crowded and a police car came by. Cars were passing by and we were dragging the bag. The handle broke off. Man, I swear I was standing there, I almost ran away." The visitor asked: "Who was dragging?" Hama replied: "Mr Ari ... We were around him, each side of him -- as God is my witness -- her hair was sticking out, her elbow was sticking out. It was a stupid, silly thing. We put the bag on our shoulder to take it away." Hama was one of five men Ms Mahmod had named in a letter to police as being involved in a plot to kill her.