Grandmother jailed for life over honour killing of 'cheating' daughter-in-law

Daily Mail, 19th September 2007

A grandmother was today facing the prospect of dying in prison after she was jailed for life for ordering the murder of her daughter-in-law.
Bachan Athwal, 70, arranged for Heathrow Customs officer Surjit Athwal to "disappear off the surface of the earth" after discovering she was having an affair and that she wanted to end her marriage.

Bachan's son Sukhdave, 43, was also given a life sentence at the Old Bailey today for his part in the murder of his wife, whose body has never been found.

Judge Giles Forrester told Bachan she would serve a minimum of 20 years. Sukhdave was ordered to serve at least 27 years before he can be considered for release.

Surjit, 27, was lured on a trip to India in December 1998 by her mother-in-law for a family wedding - but never returned.

Later the Sikh grandmother of 16 boasted that she had got rid of Surjit by getting a relative to strangle her and throw the body into a river.

Today Surjit's family praised the police investigation but said the Met, the Foreign Office and agencies in India should have acted faster.

Her brother Jagdeesh Singh called for a public inquiry into how honour killings such as his sister's, and the recent case of Banaz Mahmod, are treated by the authorities.

Earlier this year the father and uncle of Miss Mahmod, 20, were sentenced to life after she was strangled and her body buried in a suitcase for falling in love with a man outside the Kurdish community. It was claimed Miss Mahmod's fears for her safety were not taken seriously by the authorities.

Bachan, from Hayes, west London, was found guilty of murder at an earlier trial.

Heathrow bus driver Sukhdave, who still lives with his mother, was also found guilty of murder. Both had denied the offences.

The grey-haired widow, who has always protested her innocence, wept in the dock with her head bowed as she became one of the oldest women in Britain to be jailed for life in recent times.

Bachan shook her head as the judge told them: "How you could commit this unspeakable act I do not know. There was no motive worthy of the name. You did it because you perceived she had brought shame on the family name.

"In reality you murdered her for no better reason than the existence of matrimonial difficulties and the likely breakdown of the marriage. You decided the so-called honour of your family name was worth more than the life of this young woman."

Bachan took charge of Surjit's young daughter, getting the girl to call her 'mummy', the court heard.

Sukhdave took out a £100,000 insurance policy on his wife the day she left for India but it was never paid out.

During the three-month trial earlier this year, the court heard the pair almost got away with the murder until they were betrayed by relatives who gave evidence.

The court heard Surjit, originally from Coventry, had been a vivacious woman whose Western ways annoyed the family. Then it was discovered she was having an affair with a colleague and wanted to end her 10-year marriage. When she failed to return from India, Sukhdave told her worried relatives and the police that she was a 'slag' who had run away with another man in India.

But Bachan told relatives she had been strangled by a male relative and thrown into the river Ravi in the Punjab. Mother and son attempted to disrupt the Indian investigation by sending forged letters, supposedly from the police. Sukhdave divorced Surjit in her absence and remarried.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association said: "The MPSA, taking a clear steer from the Sikh religion, condemns crimes against women, including honour killings. However, we accept that Sikhs, reverting to their Punjabi culture which is ingrained deeply in their psyche and belief system, are responsible for many girls like Surjit disappearing without trace.

"The outcome of the trial sends out a clear message to those that hide behind Sikhism to justify their horrendous crimes. We acknowledge the persistence, patience and incredible bravery of the family and witnesses."

-------------------------------------------------------

Father & Uncle Sentenced to Life for Killing Banaz Banaz Was Tortured and Raped Before She Died

Daily Mail, 20th July 2007

The father and uncle of honour killing victim Banaz Mahmod were jailed for life today for her murder. Mahmod Mahmod, 54, was told he will have to serve a minimum of 20 years while his brother Ari, 51, will have to serve at least 23 years.

Horrific details were revealed yesterday of the last hours of the young Kurdish woman murdered by her family for falling in love with the wrong man. Banaz Mahmod, 20, was brutally raped and stamped on during a two-hour ordeal before being garrotted. One of her killers, the Old Bailey was told, was 30-year-old Mohamad Hama, who had been recruited by Banaz's father Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and his brother Ari, 51. Both were found guilty of murder last month.

The shocking details of the killing came to light when Hama was secretly recorded talking to a friend in prison. He admitted "slapping" and "f***ing" Banaz, who was subjected to degrading sex acts. Hama and his friend were heard laughing as he described how she was killed in her family home in Mitcham, South London, with Ari Mahmod "supervising".

The murderers - two other suspects have fled to Iraq - had been told Banaz would be on her own. Hama is recorded as saying: "Ari (the uncle) said there is no one there. There was someone there, Biza (her sister). The bastard lied to us." He said of the murder: "I swear to God it took him more than two hours. Her soul and her life would not leave."

Banaz was garotted for five minutes, said Hama, but it took another half an hour for her to die. Hama said: "The wire was thick and the soul would not just leave like that. "We could not remove it. All in all it took five minutes (to strangle) her. "I was kicking and stamping on her neck to get the soul out. I saw her stark naked, without wearing pants or underwear."

Banaz's body was packed into a suitcase and buried in a garden in Birmingham, where it was found three months later. The trial of the two brothers heard that Banaz was killed because she had walked out of an unhappy arranged marriage - which she was forced into at just 17 - and fallen in love with Iranian Kurd Rahmat Suleimani, 28. The pair had been secretly seeing each other, but her family were furious when they found out because Mr Suleimani was not "immediate family" or a strict Muslim.

Terrified, Banaz wrote to police naming people she said were planning to kill her. Hama was on the list, the court heard. Two other men named by Banaz have fled the country. Transcripts of the prison recording were read out at a pre- sentence hearing for Hama, of South Norwood, South London, who pleaded guilty to murdering Banaz at an earlier hearing.

Judge Brian Barker, the Common Sergeant of London, sat to assess the extent of Hama's involvement. Victor Temple QC, prosecuting, told the court that Hama, who sat impassively in the dock, took a "leading part" in raping and killing Banaz in January last year then dumping her body. He was said to have been recorded expressing concern because his fingerprints and DNA were on her body. He was also concerned that a leaking pipe at the house where she was buried was sending water through the suitcase, possibly uncovering it.

During another taped conversation, Hama joked about Banaz's hair and elbow sticking out of the suitcase and how a police patrol drove past while he was helping to drag it to a car. He said: "The road was crowded. The police came past. People were passing by - and we were dragging the bag. "I almost ran away. Mr Ari (was dragging it) and we were around by each side of him. "You know what it was, sticking out, her elbow, her hair was falling out so much.

That was a stupid thing, a silly thing." Defence barrister Malcolm Swift QC claimed Hama became involved only after Banaz's body had been put in the suitcase. He told the court there was no direct evidence that Hama was present at the time of the murder - he took part in the planning but "had realised the error of becoming directly involved in the killing".

Hama's car was outside his home throughout the morning of the killing and his mobile phone could not be linked to the murder scene. Mr Swift said Hama got his information on the killing from others, including Ari Mahmod.

--------------------------------------------------------

Burkas ‘are bad for your health’

Metro, July 18th 2007

Hijab and burka-wearing Muslim women are putting their health at risk because they do not get enough sunlight, doctors have warned. An alarming number of Muslim women who wear headdresses such as the hijab, which covers the head, neck and shoulders, and the burka, which covers everything except the eyes, are suffering from bone deficiencies due to lack of vitamin D.

Most of the body's vitamin D, which helps calcium absorption and prevents the bone disorder rickets, is obtained through sunlight acting on the skin. Only a very small amount comes from food.

Women with darker skin are most at risk because it takes their bodies longer to produce the vitamin.

The NHS wants to encourage women from communities that embrace the hijab, such as those from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Somalia, to increase their vitamin D intake.

A Department for Health spokesman said: 'For ethnic groups there is an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Studies have shown low levels in Asian women in the United Kingdom – particularly among those who cover most of their skin for cultural reasons.'

The problem first came to light in Bradford, which has one of the highest Muslim communities in Britain.

Through the Healthy Start scheme, families and pregnant women in Asian and African communities are being given vouchers for fruit, vegetables, milk, infant formula and vitamin supplements to help make up for their deficiencies.

-------------------------------------------------------

Turkish boys commit 'honour' crimes

Family honour remains a strong value in Turkey Young children - in some cases a woman's own son - have been used to carry out so-called "honour killings" in Turkey.

                                                          Read More...

-------------------------------------------------------

Bride's snub led to murder

BBC News, 15 October 2003

Two cousins are facing life sentences after being convicted of murdering a young bride on her wedding day, BBC News Online asks what lay behind the tragedy.

                                                          Read More...

-------------------------------------------------------

'Honour killing' screenplay changed after Iranian complaints

The Guardian, 3 August 2007

A scene in a major new film starring Harrison Ford and Sean Penn in which an Iranian character murders his sister in a so-called "honour killing" has been changed after complaints.

                                                                         Read More...