UK: Judge says "honor crimes" have no place in English law

A senior judge has condemned so-called "honour" crimes within a Muslim family as sordid acts with no place in English law.Lord Justice Wall made his comments in the first care case to reach the Court of Appeal involving conduct within an ethnic minority community.

The 41 year old father of three Muslim children placed with white foster parents was challenging being refused contact with them.He also called for them to be placed with a Muslim family, but was refused permission to appeal against the decision of the High Court Family Division.

One of the children had been set on fire by her mother who also tried to burn down their house in an attempt to incriminate her sister-in-law.

The sister-in-law was said to have "disgraced" the family because she fled after being beaten and her first child murdered by her husband, the mother's brother.

She escaped with the help of police and social services and moved to a secret location, fearing the family would track her down and kill her because she had "disgraced" them.

Lord Justice Wall said the activities brought to light by the case had "nothing to do with any concept of honour known to English law".

He described arson, domestic violence and revenge likely to result in abduction or death as criminal acts of "simply sordid, criminal behaviour."

An order was made banning identification of the children, aged five, nine and 11, whose parents are both Muslims and originate from families in Pakistan.

The local authority involved acknowledged that the placement with a white, English non-Muslim family was "culturally and religiously inappropriate".

But if placed with carers of a similar ethnic background the children may be found and lead to abduction, serious injury or even death, the court was told.

Their 32 year old mother is serving a five-year jail sentence for arson. One of her brothers had contracted a second marriage to a woman in Pakistan who came to England in 2003 while pregnant.

The child died from multiple injures aged 27 months and the father was convicted of murder. His father was recorded as saying that the death was an accident and the will of God.

Ahhh, the religion of peace. You just have to love the way muslims show their love.