Heshu Yones

Heshu Yones (; 1986 – 12 October 2002) was a 16-year-old Iraqi Kurd from Acton, London who was murdered by her father in an honour killing. Abdalla Yones killed his daughter for becoming too "westernised" and for engaging in a relationship against his orders. He was sentenced to life in prison in September 2003, with a minimum term of fourteen years. it led to the creation of a specialist task force

Background Heshu was born into a Kurdish Muslim family in Iraqi Kurdistan circa 1986. She was the middle of three children born to Abdalla and Tanya Yones. where they were granted asylum. While the family adjusted well to life in the United Kingdom, Yones struggled to adapt and was described as "a fish out of water". her school grades suffered, she failed exams and ran up large bills on her mobile phone.

During the summer before Heshu's death, the Yones family returned to Iraqi Kurdistan for a holiday. Heshu was worried that her father would arrange a marriage for her, or prevent her from returning to the UK, she said Abdalla held a gun to her head as a result. The letter, written in Kurdish, claimed that the "community" was aware that Heshu had a boyfriend;

Murder On 12 October 2002, after months of confrontation and physical violence towards his daughter, He stabbed her multiple times and cut her throat, before cutting his own throat and throwing himself off a balcony.

After finally acknowledging that he had killed his daughter, Abdalla Yones tried to claim a defence of diminished responsibility, then provocation. He said that the anonymous letter he had received at the PUK office was the key trigger for his actions; it left him "disgusted" and "distressed"

He was sentenced at the Old Bailey on 30 September 2003; he asked that the judge sentence him to death for what he had done.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Denison referred to "a tragic story of irreconcilable cultural differences between traditional Kurdish values and the values of western society" of fourteen years.