The Hindu : International : Police seek to check honour killings

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 24, 2004

International

International

Police seek to check honour killings

By Rosie Cowan— © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

THE HAGUE, JUNE 23. Police in London receive two calls a week from women and girls reporting so-called honour crimes, such as being forced into marriage or being threatened with murder by their families.

Commander Andy Baker, head of Scotland Yard's homicide squad in London who set up a unit to investigate honour-related killings and violence last year, said many more incidents went unreported due to fear and cultural taboos. He organised yesterday's conference in The Hague to share best practice with police and other experts from across Europe.

Women in some ethnic minority groups are murdered by relatives or hired assassins because they are judged to have shamed their families by perceived immoral behaviour such as refusing a forced marriage, being suspected of an affair or wanting to study and pursue a career. Heshu Yones (16), a Kurdish Muslim from west London, was stabbed to death by her father Abdalla two years ago because she was dating a Christian boy. Yones was jailed for life.

There have been more than 12 such murders in the U.K. in the past year but Cmdr Baker said other women were ``missing'' after being taken abroad by relatives or suffered suspicious injuries claimed to have been caused by road accidents or chip pan fires.

Cmdr Baker told The Guardian: ``Those who come to police are, without question, the tip of the iceberg. This is a worldwide problem with thousands of victims. We are just starting to get to grips with it in the U.K.'' As well as girls being taken to countries such as India and Pakistan, bounty hunters from other European countries carried out murders, making pan-European cooperation vital.

Police were also checking on parents booking one-way tickets to take teenage girls abroad and teachers were being advised to be alert to parents removing girls from school before exams.

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