POLICE in the North-East and support organisations led by the Halo Project have united to sign an honour based violence (HBV) charter pledging to wipe out the crime in the region and are urging victims to come forward.
They said that vital lessons have been learned since Banaz Mahmod’s pleas for help fell on deaf ears nine years ago and assured that they will be believed. The terrified 20-year-old wrote a letter from beyond the grave giving details about the men she believed would savagely kill her before her raped and strangled body was found in a suitcase.

PLEDGE: Yasmin Khan, director of Halo Project, signing a charter vowing to eradicate ‘honour’ based violence in the region with Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner, Barry Coppinger

After she was spotted kissing her boyfriend in the street, Banaz Mahmod from London was murdered by her own family in a so called ‘honour’ killing despite reporting to police that she feared her life was in danger five times.
The harrowing documentary, ‘Banaz: A Love Story’ made by award-winning filmmaker Deeyah Khan, was screened at the pledge event detailing the tragic events that unfolded from her police interview to her killers finally being brought to justice.
A picture of a younger Banaz flashed up on the screen shows a baby faced beauty with rosebud lips and a healthy glow. But the woman who sat in the police interview room with her straggly hair scraped back in a bun, looked gaunt, exhausted and with the knowing look of fear in her eyes.

Read More: http://expressnorth.co.uk/region-joins-forces-against-honour-based-violence/