Iranian husband beheads teenage wife, authorities say, shocking the country

Iranian husband beheads teenage wife, authorities say, shocking the country

By Mostafa Salem and Ramin Mostaghim, CNN

Updated 6:27 PM ET, Wed February 9, 2022

Tehran, Iran (CNN)The beheading of a 17-year-old girl, allegedly by her husband, in western Iran’s Khuzestan province last week has once again raised concern over the country’s laws around murder and gender-based violence.

Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) referred to the alleged murder as an “honor killing.”

A video began circulating showing the husband, Sajjad Heydari, walking in the provincial capital of Ahvaz while smiling and carrying his wife’s severed head, IRNA reported. Local authorities have confirmed that widely shared images that purport to be Heydari are from the same incident, a source with knowledge of the statements told CNN.

The video, seen by CNN, showed Heydari holding a knife in one hand and the girl’s head in another.

CNN has not been able to reach Heydari or his family, and it is unclear whether he has an attorney. In an interview published in Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency, Sajjad’s mother is quoted as saying her son had threatened to kill his wife previously, and was responsible for her killing.

The girl, who has been identified as “Mona” by IRNA, and as “Ghazal” by Fars — who reportedly spoke with the husband’s family — had fled to Turkey four months before being persuaded to return to Iran by her father, according to an interview with the girl’s mother-in-law, published on Fars.

Read more on the original:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/09/middleeast/iran-teenage-wife-beheaded-intl/index.html