Iranian man jailed for eight years for beheading teen wife: Judiciary

An Iranian man- Sajjad Heidarnava who beheaded his 17-year-old wife Mona Heidari in February last year, has been jailed for over eight years, the judiciary said on Wednesday (Wednesday 18). Speaking to reporters, judiciary spokesperson Massoud Setayeshi said that Heydari has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for murder and eight months for assault, news agency AFP reported. "The accused has no right to protest against the verdict and the decision is final," Setayeshi said adding that Heidar Heidarnava, the victim's brother-in-law was sentenced to 45 months in prison for complicity in intentional homicide.

"The second defendant in the case, Heidar Heidarnava, was sentenced to 45 months in prison for complicity in intentional homicide," the spokesperson said.

In February 2022, Mona was killed by Sajjad and Heidar in Khuzestan province's capital Ahvaz. A video of a smiling Sajjad carrying his wife's decapitated head on a street sparked outrage across Iran. Monaá family had pardoned the killers rather than demanding qesas which is Iran's Islamic law of retribution, the AFP report said.
At the time of the murder, news outlets in Iran reported that Mona was married to Sajjad when she was 12 and had a three-year-old son with him.

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Citing local media, a report by BBC World News on Wednesday said that the 17-year-old fled to Turkey after she was allegedly subjected to domestic violence by her husband who refused her request for a divorce. The report added that Mona returned to Iran days before she was killed as she reportedly received assurances from her family that she would be safe.

Following her killing, several human rights activists called for changes to the law to protect women against domestic violence and the increase in the minimum age of marriage for girls, which is currently 13.

Wednesday's verdict comes as Iran has been rocked by anti-hijab protests since September last year following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody. Amini was arrested by the morality police for allegedly violating the country's mandatory hijab law.

(With inputs from agencies)

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