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Honour-killing victim's sister 'threatened for being Westernised'

8:20am Friday 30th March 2007

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The court hearing the case of a Mitcham man accused of murdering his niece have heard he made death threats against the dead girl's sister for being too "Westernised".

Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and Ari Mahmod, 50, of Mitcham, deny charges of murdering Mahmod Mahmod's daughter Banaz, 20, whose body was found in a suitcase buried in a garden in Birmingham last April.

Banaz's sister Bekhal Mahmod, 22, told the Old Bailey jurors that she was beaten and called a whore and accused of being too Westernised.

Bekhal said she had been threatened by her uncle, Ari, after she and her cousin had been seen with a man, though she said he was just a friend.

Then a schoolgirl, she was sitting in her bedroom with her parents and her uncles, she told the court.

Ari, she said, sat on a chair cross-legged and touched the bottom of his foot to emphasise the importance of what he was saying.

"He said, 'If I was your father you would have been turned to ashes by now'," she said.

"'Your father's your father. I would have killed you by now, got rid of you'... I started crying."

Ari and Darbaz Maref-Rasull, 24, of Hounslow, west London, also deny conspiracy to pervert justice.

The trial continues.


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IKWRO, says...
11:23am Fri 30 Mar 07

Banaz could have been saved. See www.ikwro.org.uk to find out why.

Jill Birghall, says...
4:22pm Fri 30 Mar 07

This is the sort of story that makes me sick to my stomach. Poor girl. If she was born and brought up in this country then why shouldn't she be westernised? It's not a bad thing to intergrate with those around you. I don't want to inflame anybody but isn't this an example of what is going wrong?

Certain cultures have very, very outdated views on what is right and of course these were laid down by men in whatever century.

What they need to understand is that this is the 21st Century and even other countries the police are now getting involved as it is not acceptable. Yet we know it still goes on.

Younger generations of men must be educated into a more forward thinking attitude if these attrocities are ever to stop.

At the end of the day she was probably very intelligent and the uncle didn't like that. Many men are still threatened by this but more so in certain cultures.

I applaud any men who encourage their sisters, nieces, daughters, wives to become westernised. It doesn't mean that they will turn their backs on their cultures.

By still using these philistine practices, it will only make women more determined to break away. Maybe excommunication if they fall for someone of another faith, colour etc. There will be martyrs like the Sufragettes in the 1900's but in the end they will succeed.

My heart goes out to the decent side of her family.

James Bond, says...
11:58pm Mon 2 Apr 07

You Brits will all be on your prayer mats in a few years. Islam is giving you the high hard one right in the bottom. Why don't you cowboy-up and put a stop to these a-holes before you become one - and you will, or they'll kill you too.

Bruce, Newquay says...
7:10am Tue 3 Apr 07

Might as well surrender now! Ethnic whites have enslaved the Muslims for centurys and are now getting a little pay back. Why should the Muslims have to obey the corrupt practices of the kafir? Allah (pbuh)will protect these men and bring the Peace of Allah to England.

Just get used to it stupid kafir!

Antonio, Far Far East says...
9:30am Tue 3 Apr 07

Bruce, once the peace of Allah will be brought all over the Earth, where will you seek political asylum? Are you just hoping a few "Homo Faber" (likely to be white or yellow and not belonging to the "Religion of Peace") will colonise Mars in the meantime?

Jill Birghall, says...
4:17pm Thu 5 Apr 07

I notice that all the stupid comments have come from men here!!! This is a serious issue and you are turning it into something ridiculous. I am not a feminist but Bruce you sound like you'd be better off labotimised!!! I bet the majority of muslims which I am not sure you should call yourself would find your comments abhorent too!!!

Go and crawl back into the mountains and join Old Bin Liner and his gang.

Ron, USA says...
2:29pm Sat 7 Apr 07

It's amazing that these Islamofascist brainashed knuckleheads, after living in the civilized world, would actually want the barbaric, backward, pitiful and pathetic world of Islam. Poor souls.

Jennifer, says...
5:18pm Sat 7 Apr 07

'Bruce' isn't Bruce of course and probably has never seen Newquay. Beware islamogits pretending to be westerners and talking islamob*llocks! What weak women-hating eastern minds like his need to realise is that it's the digital age and modernity is inevitable for the entire world, even the pitiful islamic parts, where half of its women are illiterate.

Meanwhile, a Malay newspaper reported last year that there were then 150,000 registered muslim apostates in Malaysia alone.

About 20% of all muslims who head west also become apostates, though surreptiously. In France, you are about 70% likely to have 'no religion' if both parents are from Algeria, for example. So the often quoted figure for French muslims is somewhat meaningless.

laosuwan, thailand says...
11:59am Sat 23 Feb 08

england is a failed state and its people are already conquered. We have had enough of your white flight immigrants coming to asia to escape islam. stand up for yourselves and do something while you can. we cannot take all of you here and you drink too much

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