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April 5, 2008
UK: Police Failure To Take Honor Killing Seriously
This relates to a report published earlier in the week. On April 2 Britain's Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) released the results of its investigation into the death of Banaz Mahmod Babakir Agha. On January 23, 2006 the 20 year old had disappeared from her home in Mitcham, south London. Her decomposing body was later found in Alexandra Road, Handsworth, Birmingham in a suitcase.
On June 11, 2007, her father and brother were found guilty of her murder. Ari Mahmod, 51, her uncle, strangled her with a shoelace, on the orders of his brother, Banaz's father, 52-year old Mahmod Mahmod. The decision to kill her had been decided at a family meeting. Her crime had been to fall in love with a man, Rahmat Sulemani.
He had said: "I hope that police are going to take this more seriously because it is happening every day in Britain. If somebody goes to the police and complains that they are threatened by someone and they fear for their lives, I just hope that they are going to do something before it's too late."
After the convictions, the IPCC had announced that an inquiry was under way into the way the case had been handled. Banaz had approached the police four times to tell them that she feared her father would kill her.
She had been held prisoner at her grandmother's house, and had escaped through a window. This led to her being in hospital. Her boyfriend took a video on his mobile phone to provide evidence to support her claims against her family. This too appears to have been ignored. That video can be seen here.
The report from the IPCC states that two Metropolitan Police Service officers - "a police constable and an inspector - will face a disciplinary panel to explain their actions during an incident on 31 December 2005. In addition it has been recommended that four MPS and two West Midlands detectives should receive written warnings and one MPS constable should receive words of advice in relation to another incident."
The IPCC had examined five issues:
On the issue of the reports from Banaz, made on December 4, 2005 and December 10, 2005, as well as handling the report that Rahmat Sulemani had been threatened, the IPCC found that the Metropolitan Police Service had "shown compassion and willingness to deal with the matters reported".
The report found that when Banaz had reported her fears on September 14, 2005 and on December 31, 2005 the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) had let Banaz down. On September 14, despite reports of physical and sexual assault and an officer being put on the case on September 15, no attempt to contact Banaz took place until September 22. When the officer did eventually speak to Banaz on September 27 2005, it became clear "that the allegations related to incidents in the West Midlands. As a result the case was passed to West Midlands Police. A West Midlands Police officer took over the investigation on 28 September and spoke with Ms Mahmod the following day to arrange a date for an interview to take place. This happened on 10 October. However, it was not until 10 January 2006 that contact was made with Ms Mahmod to get her to sign the statement."
The IPCC found that the MPS could have done more, and recommended that four Metropolitan police officers receive written warnings and that one PMS officer receives "words of advice".
IPCC also found that the West Midlands Police force investigation was "flawed, not done in a timely fashion and poorly supervised. As a result it has been recommended that two officers receive written warnings and another officer receive management development intervention over his failings to provide adequate supervision."
"In the incident on 31 December 2005, Ms Mahmod had entered a café in a distressed state. Paramedics and police officers were called to deal with the incident. The IPCC investigation concluded that the actions of a police constable in dealing with this incident, and those of a supervising inspector, fell below the required standard and as a result it has been recommended that they appear before a disciplinary panel to account for their actions. As a result of this recommendation it is not appropriate for the IPCC to discuss the detail of its findings at this stage."
The IPCC Commissioner, Nicola WIlliams, said: "Banaz Mahmod was a young woman who lost her life in terrible circumstances. Her murder has been termed an 'honour killing' and there has been much debate about this subject which I do not intend to add to. The IPCC's investigation focussed on how two police forces dealt with allegations and whether more could have been done to assist a woman who was living in fear."
"It is clear that the police response was at best mixed. In relation to three of the incidents we investigated we found the police force involved - the Metropolitan Police Service - had dealt with matters appropriately and sensitively."
"However, in relation to two incidents we have found that Banaz Mahmod was let down by the service she received. There were delays in investigations, poor supervision, a lack of understanding and insensitivity. In relation to what we believe to be the worst failings - the way MPS officers dealt with Ms Mahmod on 31 December 2006 - we believe it is entirely appropriate for two officers to face a disciplinary panel. It would not be appropriate for us to discuss the evidence relating to this until it has been presented before this panel."
"Aside from the disciplinary outcomes of this investigation we have also made a number of recommendations designed to improve policing practice. These include the review of procedures relating to the investigation of sexual offences and the reinforcing of knowledge about domestic and honour based violence."
Community Care, which had earlier called for a full investigation, and which has reported on the IPCC investigation, has announced that on April 22 2008 a conference will be held in London called: "Working with Faith Communities to Safeguard Children - Working Together to Combat Violence and 'Honour' Abuse". This conference will address possible strategies to avoid further honour killings.
My own perspective is that such strategies can only be successful if police and social services maintain a set standard of principles, with no dilution of inquiry and expectations based on a PC approach to "cultural sensitivities". These faith communities are living in Britain - where the rights extended under British law come above any religious "rights" to be immune from examination and potential prosecution. Too often, authorities have not applied basic principles of justice to investigating such cases, fearful of being called "racist".
News reports on the IPCC investigation into police handling of Banaz Mahmod's case can be found in the Guardian, Telegraph and Reuters.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at April 5, 2008 3:15 PM
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