Umbrella of Law; Romina’s Father Had Previously Investigated Infanticide
Infanticide by a father or paternal grandfather in Iranian law carries only 3 to 10 years of punishment, and the bill to increase penalties for infanticide is stuck in administrative bureaucracy. Romina’s mother’s lawyer says the killer had previously investigated this matter and was aware of his immunity.
Massoumeh Ebtekar, in her latest press conference, announced that preliminary reviews of the Women and Family Security Bill in the Legislative Commission have been completed and it will go to the open session in Mehr month. Regarding increasing penalties for killing relatives and infanticide by fathers, she said: “We have held legal sessions and a bill has been sent to the judiciary, and we hope it will go to the open session of parliament as soon as possible for final approval.”
Ebtekar had also expressed hope two months earlier that the bill would soon reach the approval stage, adding that the Women’s Deputy has held eight jurisprudential sessions with Qom scholars over two years and has good interaction with them.
In mid-June 2020, Hamshahri newspaper quoted Ayatollah Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi Shahroudi, member of the Assembly of Experts and former deputy of the Supreme Court, regarding the non-implementation of capital punishment for the infanticide father: “This is a primary religious ruling and is unchangeable, and not only in Shiite jurisprudence, but Sunni scholars have also ruled that a father and paternal grandfather are not subject to capital punishment for killing their child, and Sunni scholars do not even deem a mother deserving of capital punishment for killing her child.”
Similar views have been expressed by other judicial and jurisprudential officials, who have deemed changing “Islam’s primary rulings” impossible. On this basis, many observers believe it unlikely that the relevant bill, if passed in parliament, would pass the Guardian Council’s approval.
Following Romina Ashrafī’s heinous murder by scythe, Hassan Rouhani ordered the acceleration of examining bills against violence against women. The deputy minister of justice also called for severe punishment of the killer. Romina had fled her home but the judge handed her back to her father. The father beheaded his daughter, and during the trial it became clear he was aware of his immunity against the law.
The head of the judiciary had previously promised an exemplary conviction for the killer, but Reza Ashrafī was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment and payment of blood money, based on Article 220 of the Islamic Penal Code.
Ibrahim Nikdal Moghaddam, lawyer for Raana Deshti, Romina’s mother, said: “Romina’s father, without mentioning what had happened, asked one of the family’s acquaintances who was a law student what would happen if a father killed his child, and he explained the legal punishment.”
Nikdal Moghaddam also cited the conversations between the judge and the defendant during trial sessions as further evidence of the killer’s awareness of the type of punishment: “He said he killed his daughter to cleanse his honor. When he said such a thing, the judge said if you believed your honor was tainted, why didn’t you kill Bahman Khavari, why did you kill your own daughter in her sleep, to which he replied if I had killed Bahman, I would have been executed.”
Public reaction regarding the immunity of Romina’s father from deserved punishment continues, while the case lawyer reports threats from Romina’s father. Ibrahim Nikdal Moghaddam says: “Romina’s father was very insistent on getting approval from Romina’s mother… I told him he should not harm my client and should leave her alone… When he saw his insistence was fruitless, he threatened me and said he would send his brothers after you and would not leave you alone.”
Nikdal told media that given the dangerousness of the criminal and his very violent act, supplementary punishment should have been considered for him: “This dangerous thinking exists among Romina’s father’s family as well and other women and children may become victims… Romina’s uncle, who also incited his brother to commit murder and said if you don’t do it I will, in our view should be prosecuted, otherwise it is possible that other bitter incidents could occur.”
Raana Deshti, the victim’s mother, while protesting the verdict of the criminal court of Gilan, expressed concern that the paternal family might take her other six-year-old child from her by resorting to law. Ms. Deshti’s lawyer says she can file a request to remove the father’s custody, and given the killer’s circumstances, one could hope that this could be achieved through legal means.
Source: DW
