WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: Mona Heydari, a mum-of-one, was just 17 when she was murdered by her husband in Iran after she fled their abusive marriage – and was forced to return
A man who decapitated his wife and paraded her severed head through the streets has been handed a mere eight-year prison sentence in Iran. He dodged a stiffer penalty after her parents reportedly opted not to invoke Iran’s Islamic law of retribution.
Mona Heydari, a mother of one, was only 17 when she was yanked from a car outside her family home and slain in February 2022, as per court records. Her spouse Sajjad Heydari, along with his brother Heydar, executed the savage murder in Ahvaz, the capital of the south-western Khuzestan Province.
A judiciary spokesperson disclosed that the lenient sentence was given because Mona’s parents had “pardoned” him for the murder instead of seeking retribution, reports the Express.
Mona, who was married off at the tender age of 12, initially fled her abusive husband and sought refuge in Turkey with another man, the court was told. Heydari had allegedly dismissed Mona’s appeals for a divorce.
Her father, identified as Javid in local reports, eventually tracked her down and persuaded her to return to Iran.
As reported by the BBC, her father supposedly used Interpol to locate his daughter and handed her back to her violent husband, where her spouse – who is also her cousin – killed her, alleging she had dishonoured him.
Disturbing video footage, which The Express has opted not to broadcast, surfaced showing the murderous husband gripping his wife’s head in one hand whilst wielding a large knife in the other following her killing.
Court spokesman Massud Setayeshi revealed that Heydari was slapped with a seven and a half year jail term for murder, plus an extra eight months for deliberate assault.
His sibling, who dumped his sister-in-law’s headless corpse, was given a 45-month prison stretch for being an accomplice to intentional homicide.
The court was told how the victim’s father justified wedding her off at 12 to a family member, claiming that the brutality she endured in the marriage was routine.
Mona was just 14 when she delivered their son.
Her father praised the husband they selected for her as an excellent partner, highlighting his industrious nature and provision of the ‘finest life’ for his daughter.
Javid declared to the court: “She was not forced to marry, and in fact, the husband provided her with the very best of lives.
“It’s true, there was fighting between them, and sometimes there was violence, and she would return home, but she only stayed for two or three days, and then he would pick her up, and life would return to normal.
“These fights between husband and wife are completely normal, and I don’t think there was a problem as she did not ask for a divorce.”
Mona’s father conceded that, looking back, she might have been too young to wed, but maintained: “We got a certificate of confirmation that she was physically old enough to marry, and there was no physical problem in the relationship.”
The family alleged that the husband felt disgraced and affronted when his wife absconded to Turkey with another man.
The Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) revealed that the victim was coerced into marrying her cousin at the tender age of 12.
They also reported that the young girl was allegedly subjected to domestic violence and whenever she voiced a desire to divorce her husband, her family urged her to return home for their child’s sake, who was born when she was merely 14.
Local press reported that the husband’s brother concealed the girl’s body in a blanket and discarded it, while the husband flaunted his wife’s severed head.
In the video, the suspect is seen grinning broadly as he parades the teenager’s head, passing by local residents.
Meanwhile, state-run news site Rokna was reportedly shut down for publishing the story and the footage at the time of the incident.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
#Husband #decapitated #wife #walked #street #carrying #forgiven
