"Honour killing" father gets 20 years

LONDON (Reuters) - The father of a Kurdish woman tortured, raped and murdered in a "barbaric and callous" honour killing was jailed for at least 20 years on Friday.

Banaz Mahmod's father Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and her uncle Ari Mahmod, 51, who received a 23-year minimum sentence, were found guilty of murder last month.

A third man, Mohamad Hama, 31, pleaded guilty to murder and will spend at least 17 years in jail.

The 20-year-old was raped and garrotted during an ordeal lasting more than 2-1/2 hours at her family home in south London last year.

She had told police four times she feared for her life after falling in love with a man of whom her family disapproved, but her claims were not taken seriously, the court heard.

Sentencing the three to life at the Old Bailey, Judge Brian Barker said: "This offence was designed to carry a wider message to the community to discourage legal behaviour of girls and women in this country.

"Having endured a short and unhappy marriage she made the mistake of falling in love with a Kurdish man that you and your community thought was unsuitable.

"So, to restore your so-called family honour you decided she should die and her memory be erased. This was a barbaric and a callous crime."

The court had heard how she angered her family after walking out of an abusive arranged marriage which she entered aged 17.