WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Banaz Mahmod was a young woman when she was brutally murdered by her own family 20 years ago this month in a so-called ‘honour killing’
Liam McInerney Content Editor
07:30, 09 Jan 2026
Banaz Mahmod was just 20-years-old when she was killed (Image: MSM)
A young woman was subjected to torture and rape in the living room of her parents’ home, held down by her two cousins. Banaz Mahmod was subsequently strangled with a bootlace and her body discarded in a suitcase.
This horrific end was orchestrated by her own father and uncle, and as we approach the 20th anniversary of her tragic death, we reflect on the murder case that sent shockwaves through Britain.
Banaz was merely 20-years-old and resided in Mitcham, South London. She relocated to England with her family at the age of 10 when her father, a former soldier, sought asylum in the UK while escaping Saddam Hussein.
Banaz and her four sisters endured abuse throughout their childhoods, which only intensified after settling in the UK.
At just 17, Banaz was forced into an arranged marriage with a man ten years her senior. However, after enduring repeated beatings and rapes by her husband, she eventually left.
Mahmod Mahmod is the father of Banaz Mahmod (Image: PA)
In a desperate bid for escape, she returned to her family home and fell in love with a man of her own choosing, Rahmat Sulemani.
Yet, Banaz lived in perpetual fear, even reporting to the police five separate times – her concern being that her own family wanted her dead.
Tragically, she was dismissed and her worst fears were realised when her father, Mahmod Babakir Mahmod, and uncle, Ari Agha Mahmod, concocted a sinister plan, disapproving of the man she had fallen in love with.
They determined that Banaz brought “shame” on the family and ultimately wanted her killed to restore their “honour” within the Kurdish community.
The so-called “honour-killing” happened on the morning of January 24, 2006, and the man hired to carry out the murder was Mohamad Hama.
Her father and uncle ordered her death (Image: PA)
Banaz was subjected to two-and-a-half hours of suffering inside her own home including degrading acts of sexual violence. Hama later boasted about raping his victim and described how he eventually stamped on her neck to “get her soul out”.
After Banaz had been raped and strangled, Hama, along with her cousins Mohammed Saleh Ali and Omar Hussain, stuffed her remains into a suitcase before travelling to a derelict house in Birmingham where the body was buried in a pit where it remained hidden for three months.
Her worried boyfriend, Rahmat, who took his own life in 2016, reported her missing to the police, and her body was eventually discovered following the arrest of her father and uncle.
DCI Caroline Goode recalled: “In this case the family had no interest whatsoever in the investigation. It was an absolute outrage that this girl was missing and nobody cared.”
Mohamad Hama murdered Banaz (Image: PA)
Speaking to MailOnline, she added: “The case was unusual because normally when you investigate a murder you are trying to get justice for the family. But in this instance, the family weren’t interested in getting justice as they were the ones who ordered her killing.”
Her father was convicted of murder in 2007 and received a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years. Her uncle was handed life imprisonment with a minimum of 23 years for the killing.
Mohamad Hama confessed to the murder and was sentenced to at least 17 years.
Mohammed Ali was jailed for life (Image: PA)
Three years later, her cousins, Omar Hussain and Mohamad Saleh Ali, were convicted of murder following their extradition from Iraq. They received minimum sentences of 22 years and 21 years respectively.
The heartbreaking story of Banaz was depicted in an ITV drama called Honour, featuring Keeley Hawes as detective Caroline Goode and Buket Komur as Banaz.
Her sister, Bekhal Mahmod, now lives under a new identity, separated from her Iraqi-Kurdish family, and recently spoke to the Guardian about the 20th anniversary of the killing.
She said: “I’m always looking over my shoulder. I’m never going to let my guard down.”
Omar Hussain was also jailed for life (Image: PA)
Bekhal, who testified at the 2007 murder trial, explained that what happened to her sister continues to haunt her, adding: “It can take the smallest thing, like somebody saying the word Iraq… my head turns instantly, it’s a fear.”
She has also thrown her support behind a proposed Banaz’s Law in the UK, a campaign seeking to recognise “honour” abuse as a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing.
Beyond ensuring perpetrators face justice, it also aims to help authorities identify warning signs of abuse while empowering victims to speak out.