A man from Iran has been imprisoned for more than eight years after decapitating his wife and displaying her head in public, in a case that shocked the country, the court said Wednesday.
Mona Heidari, 17, was killed in February 2022 by her husband and brother-in-law in Ahvaz, the capital of southwestern Khuzestan province.
A video that emerged later of a smiling husband celebrating his severed head in the street caused grief and anger in the Islamic republic.
Iranian Islamic law on retribution
Sajjad Heidarnava sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for murder and eight months for assault, court spokesman Massoud Setayeshi told reporters.
Heidari’s family has forgiven the killers instead of prosecuting qesas – Iran’s Islamic law of retribution.
Also Read: Iran hangs two murder convicts in latest execution
“The accused do not have the right to protest against the verdict and the decision is final,” the spokesman said.
“The second defendant in the case, Heidar Heidarnava, was sentenced to 45 months in prison for his involvement in the intentional murder,” he said.
Call for change
At the time of the murder, media in Iran said that Heidari had been married at the age of 12 and was the mother of a three-year-old son when she was killed.
Also read: Iran sentences three to death over Amini protests
After the crime, human rights defenders called for changes in the law to protect women from domestic violence and increase the minimum age for marriage for girls, which is currently set at 13.
Iran has been rocked by protests that erupted after the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, after she was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s dress code for women.
|