An Iranian has been sentenced to nine years in jail for killing his teenaged daughter in her sleep, local media said Friday, adding that the mother wants him executed.
The so-called “honour” killing of 14-year-old Romina Ashrafi on May 21 sparked widespread outrage, with media condemning “institutionalised violence” in the Islamic republic.
“Iranian media have reported that, before beheading his daughter, Ashrafi consulted a lawyer to find out what punishment he would face.” https://t.co/bjK1Zlv4KF
— UANI (@UANI) June 5, 2020
Iranian man jailed for killing teenage daughter, mother still fears for her life
Media said Romina was decapitated at the family home in the village of Talesh in the northern province of Gilan. “Despite the judicial authorities’ insistence on a ‘special handling’ of the case, the verdict has terrified me and my family,” Rana Dashti, the mother, told ILNA news agency.
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“I don’t want my husband to return to our village ever again,” she said, calling for the verdict to be reviewed and changed to “execution”. Having lived with the man for 15 years, Dashti said she now fears for the life of the rest of her family.
What a horrifying and sad tale. An Iranian father’s beheading of his 14-year-old daughter sparks “a me-too moment on social media of women pouring out their own stories of abuse at the hands of male relatives” https://t.co/u4LsMj9YPK
— Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) June 8, 2020
According to ILNA, Iran’s penal code does not lay down the death penalty for a father in cases of filicide and the court can only sentence the accused to fines and jail time.
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Romina had reportedly run away after the father refused to give permission for her to marry a man 15 years her senior. But she was detained by authorities and taken home, despite having pleaded with a judge that she feared for her life if returned.
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The man she wanted to marry, Bahman Khavari, has been sentenced to two years in prison, as the legal age of marriage for women in Iran is 13.
AFP with additional input by GVS News Desk