Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/TEHRAN: An Iranian court handed down an eight-year jail term to a man who had killed his 17-year-old wife for “honour”.
The convict, identified as Sajjad Heydari, had brandished the severed head of his wife, Mona, after killing her for honour in Ahvaz last year, sparking outrage among the public.
According to an Iranian judicial spokesperson, the convict was given a lenient sentence as Mona’s parents had “pardoned” Heydari for the murder rather than seeking retribution, the BBC said.
However, her father said he had not given his permission for the murder. When Mona was 14 years old, she gave birth to a son after marrying Heydari when she was only 12.
According to the local media, before her murder, Mona fled to Turkey after her husband allegedly used domestic violence against her and denied her demand for a divorce. A few days before her murder, she had returned to Iran last February after receiving assurance from her family about her safety.
Jail sentence to convict
Massoud Setayeshi, a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, told reporters that Heydari had been sentenced to seven-and-a-half-year in jail for murder and an additional eight months for assault.
He clarified that the decision was per Iranian law, which holds that planned murder is a capital offense unless the victim’s family pardons the offender. He claimed that Mona’s brother-in-law received a 45-month imprisonment for his involvement in the murder.
The horrific murder sparked fresh calls in Iran for legislation to prevent domestic abuse and protect victims. There were also requests to raise the marital age requirement for children. In Iran, the age limit for girls is 13; however, girls younger than that can be lawfully wed with parental and judicial approval.
There was similar outrage in 2020 after Romania Ashrafi, a 14-year-old girl, was beheaded by her father after she left home to marry her boyfriend. Before killing his daughter, the father sought legal advice about the possible consequences of his penalty. He was given nine years imprisonment, one less than the maximum permissible by law.
The Iranian government has passed a draft bill to make violence against women illegal. The parliament has yet to approve it, and a UN independent expert has stated that it needs to be revised. Anti-government demonstrations are currently rocking Iran after a young woman whom morality police had imprisoned in September for reportedly wearing her hijab or headscarf “improperly” died in police custody.
Four people have been put to death in connection with the protests, while another 18 have received death sentences. According to human rights organizations, they were found guilty following blatantly unjust mock trials.
