Judicial Spokesperson: Mona Heydari’s Family Did Not Demand Qisas

Masoud Setayeshi, spokesperson for the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic, announced on Wednesday, June 24th, during his first press conference that Mona (Ghazal) Heydari’s family did not demand qisas (retributive justice), and stated that the case is being reviewed in Criminal Court Two.

Previously, the Ahvaz prosecutor had announced that due to complaints by the blood heirs regarding the defendants in terms of the private aspect of the crime and demands for qisas, the case had been sent to the provincial criminal court. Also, Mona (Ghazal) Heydari’s father had stated that he has filed a complaint against the killer and will not show mercy.

On February 6th, 2022, images were published by Rokna news agency showing a man in Ahvaz walking through the city streets with the severed head of a woman. Sajjad Heydari, the husband of Mona (Ghazal) Heydari, after killing her, carried 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 (at 12 or 13 years old), was 17 years old when killed by her husband and was the mother of a three-year-old child.

Following the publication of images of this heinous murder, Sajjad’s mother told Farsnews that her son wanted to tell those who had labeled him “cowardly” that “I am not a cowardly man.”

These types of crimes in Iran, which occur under the pretext of defending “honor,” are often exempted from severe punishments through recourse to certain provisions of the law and the use of legal loopholes. Iran is among the few countries that has not acceded to the “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.”

Source: Voice of America