Lynne Townley reflects on why honour crimes present a challenge for the criminal justice system
This January at Oxford Crown Court, Chomir Ali and his two sons, Mohammed Mujibar Rahman (18) and Mamnoor Rahman (15) were each sentenced to more than 50 years’ imprisonment following their convictions for murder in what is described as an honour crime killing. The victim of the crime, Arash Ghorbani-Zani, had been having a relationship with Chomir Ali’s daughter, Manna Bagum. Ali disapproved of the relationship because of his perception of Arash’s family background (Arash was an Iranian Muslim) and because he had intended that his daughter should enter into an arranged marriage with a Bangladeshi man. The prosecution case was that Ali had recruited his two sons to kill Arash in order to restore what Ali saw as his family’s ‘honour’.
...
