Sulaymaniyah, 17 June 2009: Banaz Mahmoud Mahmoud was killed by her father in the UK in Mid 2006 under pretexts of honour. Banaz, then aged 20, was forced to marry by her father which subsequently ended in divorce. After her divorce, Banaz  was involved in a relationship with another person, an act which was not accepted by her family and let to the killing of Banaz by her father and uncle.

A court in the UK sentenced both Banaz’s father and uncle for life. Bana’z father and uncle confessed that they hired a band of criminals to murder Banaz. According to the testimony of Mohammed Hama, who was part of the band who killed Banaz, they were four young men who first raped Banaz and then killed her. Two of the murder perpetrators Mohammed Salih Ali and Omer Hussein Agha had left the UK illegally and returned to Kurdistan. Mohammed Salih Ali was arrested in relation to a traffic accident and was identified as one of the perpetrators of Banaz’s murder after biometric checks. The Kurdistan Regional Government had agreed, after the approval from the Baghdad Central Government, to hand over Mohammed Salih Ali to the UK authorities according to the agreement between the UK and Iraq governments with respect to extradition of criminals. However, the KRG had reportedly informed the UK Police authorities on 11 June 2009 that Mohammed Salih Ali will be tried at a court in Sulaymaniyah and that the authorities in Sulaymaniyah will not hand him over to the UK authorities. 

Asuda calls upon the Judicial Authorities in Kurdistan to hand over Mohammed Salih Ali to the UK authorities to be tried at the UK courts. Asuda also demands a fair trial for Mohammed Salih Ali.