Judiciary Spokesperson: Mona Heidari's Family Did Not Demand Retaliation

Masoud Setayishi, spokesman for the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic, announced in his first press conference on Wednesday, June 24, that the family of Mona (Ghazal) Heidari will not demand retribution and said: "The case is being heard in Criminal Court No. 2."
Previously, the Ahvaz prosecutor announced: "Due to the complaint of the parents of the victim against the defendants regarding the private aspect of the crime and the demand for retribution, the case has been sent to the provincial criminal court." Also, the father of Mona (Ghazal) Heydari said that he has filed a complaint against the murderer and will not consent.

On February 17, 1402, images were published on the Rokna News Agency showing a man in Ahvaz walking the streets of the city with the severed head of a woman. Sajjad Heydari, the husband of Mona (Ghazal) Heydari, after murdering her, took her severed head through the streets and neighborhoods of Ahvaz.

Mona (Ghazal) Heydari, who according to some reports was married at a very young age (12 or 13), was 17 years old and the mother of a three-year-old child when she was murdered by her husband.

After the release of images of this gruesome murder, Sajjad's mother told Fars News Agency that her son wanted to tell those who had "stigmatized him as a coward," "I am not a coward."

These types of crimes in Iran, which occur under the pretext of defending "honor," are often exempted from severe punishments by resorting to some provisions of the law and using legal loopholes. Iran is one of the few countries that has not joined the "International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women."

Source: Voice of America