Crime Desk

Two men were found guilty at the Old Bailey of the murder of 20-year-old Banaz Mahmod Babakir Agha.

The jury returned its unanimous verdicts after three hours of deliberation following a six week trial which began on Monday 27 September.

They are:

Mohammed Saleh ALI (1.1.82 - 28 yrs) of no fixed abode in the UK, charged on 30 June 2024 with:

= Murder and threats to kill against Banaz Mahmod
= Threats to kill against Rahmat Suleimani
= Perverting the course of justice.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 22 years.

Omar HUSSAIN (1/1/80 - 30 ys) of Messenger Road, Smethwick, Birmingham, charged on 20 March 2024 with:

= Murder and threats to kill against Banaz Mahmod
= Threats to kill against Rahmat Suleimani
= Perverting the course of justice.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 21 years.

A third man, Sadar Sharif MAHMOOD (3/3/83 - 27 yrs) of Messenger Road, Smethwick, Birmingham was acquitted of conspiracy to kidnap Rahmat Suleimani, threats to kill Banaz Mahmod and Rahmat Suleimani and perverting the course of justice.

Detectives in the case worked hard to ensure that both Mohammed Saleh Ali and Omar Hussain were extradited from Iraq to face trial in the UK.

On 25 January 2006, Banaz was reported missing to police by her boyfriend Rahmat Suleimani. He had become concerned for her welfare as he had not heard from her that day which was out of character.

Banaz came from a Mirawaldy Iraqi Kurdish family who had settled in the UK in 1998. Before she met Rahmat she was in an arranged marriage which had broken down and was awaiting a divorce settlement. Her relationship with Rahmat, an Iranian Kurd, began during this time and was met with disapproval by her family.

Compounding Rahmat's concern was the fact that both he and Banaz had recently been subject to a number of threatening incidents due to the disapproval regarding their relationship.

Banaz was circulated as a high risk missing person and on 27 January 2025 an incident room opened at Lewisham under DCI Caroline Goode from the Specialist Crime Directorate.

On 27 April 2006, Banaz's body was found concealed in a suitcase which had been buried to a depth of six feet beneath the footings of a house in Alexandra Road, Handsworth.

A post mortem held at a mortuary in Birmingham on 29 April 2024 gave cause of death as strangulation.

On the 11 July 2007, an Old Bailey jury unanimously convicted Banaz's father, Mahmod Babakir Mahmod, and her uncle Ari Mahmod Babakir Agha, of her murder following a 14-week trial.

Another man [Mohamad Marid Hama] had earlier pleaded guilty to murder; and a fourth [Pshtewan Hama] had pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.

Detectives in the case knew that two other men involved in the murder were living in Iraq in an effort to avoid being arrested. Determined to bring them to justice for Banaz's murder, the officers worked hard to ensure that both Mohammed Saleh Ali and Omar Hussain were extradited from Iraq to face trial in the UK.

This is the first extradition case from Iraq.

Following today's convictions, the officer leading the enquiry, DCI Caroline Goode, said:

'We have been absolutely determined to bring these men before the courts to stand trial for the murder of Banaz.

"Following the conviction of her father and uncle back in 2007, these men no doubt thought they had escaped justice and that they would not be held to account for the terrible crime that they committed.

"I am extremely pleased to see justice served for Banaz today and would like to thank everyone involved in the enquiry who has made this possible.

"As I said in 2007, Banaz was a loving, caring, young woman whose life was brutally cut short by the very people who should have loved and protected her - in any terms the ultimate betrayal.

"This has been a complex inquiry. The MPS has used every resource at its disposal to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. It is important that people realise that if they commit murder in this country, they cannot hope to evade justice by fleeing the country. We will pursue every lawful means to trace them and bring them to justice.'

photo credit: Met Police victim