Iran Human Rights

A father murdered his 16 years old daughter because of suspicion

Iran Human Rights — 2009-03-02T06:19:35Z

Iran Human Rights, March 1: A father killed his 16 years old daughter in Tehran reported the Iranian daily Etemaad. The girl who is identified as Nasrin was shot dead yesterday morning February 28.

The father, identified as Gholam Abbas, told the police that he had been suspicious of Nasrin's behaviour for some time. That day she left the house early morning to meet a friend and when she came back around 9'oclock I shot her twice and killed her.

According to the police, the family seemed happy and some family members even thanked Gholam Abbas for killing Nasrin.

According to the pragraph 220 of Iranian islamic law, if father or father's father killes his child or grand child, he will not be punished for murder.

Experts say that incidence of honor killings has been increasing i the recent years in Iran.

Also read: 50 honor killings in the last 7 months in Iran

50 honor killings in the last 7 months in Iran, according to the Iranian official

Iran Human Rights — 2008-11-29T21:32:16Z

Iran Human Rights, November 29: A high ranking official in the Iranian police, said in an interview with the daily newspaper Etemaad that there have been 50 "honor killings" in the last 7 months. He didn't mention whether this number is for teh whole country or not.

According to this official, number of this year's honor killings is the same as last year.

Honor killing has been increasing in Iran in the past years. From a phenomen being limited to smaller towns in the outskirts of the country, honor killings are being observed increasingly also in the bigger cities:

A father killed his daughter in Isfahan- Another father buried his daughter alive in Tehran

A man hanged his own sister because she wanted to marry a man she loved

A father strangled his 14 years old daughter because of her suspicious behaviour

A 14 years old girl stoned to death by her father

Human rights defenders believe that the laws included in the Iranian constitution after 1980s are partly responsible for this increase.

We have also been observing an increasing number of parents killing their children.

According to the paragraph 220 of the Iranian penal law, if a father or grandfather (on father's side) kill his child og grandchild, he will not be convicted and punished for murder.

See online : 50 honor killings in 7 months in Iran

A father strangled his 14 years old daughter because of her suspicious behaviour

Iran Human Rights — 2008-11-02T07:02:46Z

Iran Human Rights, November 1: A man has killed his own 14 years old daughter because of what he called "her suspicious behaviour".

According to the Iranian daily newspaper Quds, a 14 years old girl identified as Maryam was found dead in her home in the city of Shiraz. It was the girl´s mother who found her dead in her bedroom.

After some investigation teh girl´s father confessed to the police that he had killed his daughter Maryam.

He explained: "Maryam had been acting suspiciously lately, and I suspected that she was having an affair with a man. The night before her death she had nausea and abdominal pain. This made me certain about my suspicion. Then I decided to kill her to save my family´s honor"

He continued:" In the middle of the night, when she was asleep, I went to her room and strangled her with her head scarf".

The father is going to be tried for killing his daughter.

However, he is not going to be charged with murder, since according to the Iranian law, if a father or grandfather (on father´s side) kill his child or grandchild, he will not be charged and punished for murder. They normally get few years in prison or have to pay blood money the the victim´s family. But since they are head of teh family, normally they are not punished.

According to human rights lawyers, this law is one of the reasons for the increasing number of "honor killings" in Iran.

See online : A father strangled his 14 years old daughter because of her suspicious behaviour

A man hanged his own sister because she wanted to marry a man she loved

Iran Human Rights — 2008-06-15T21:33:28Z

Iran Human rights, June 15: A 21 years old girl was killed by her brother in the town of Haji Abad, near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, reported the daily newspaper Etemad, today.

The brother, who is identified as Morteza explained the story to the police: "Some time ago, a man with the name Hooshang proposed to my sister Marjan and ask us to marry her. Since he already had a failed marriage, we opposed his request. But Hoshang continued showing interest to my sister, and she got emotionally involved in him. We tried to talk to her and explained that marrying Hoshang wouldn't be a good idea but she didn't seem to be convinced. Early morning on MAy 11. my mother told me that Marjan had escaped from home. I got very upset and started searching for her. I felt that the family's honor was in jeopardy. After three days I ehard that Marjan has returned home. I took Marjan to a room and closed the door and asked her to explain what ahd happened. She told me that she left home to marry Hoshang, but since it wouldn't be possible to get married without our father's presence, I came back home to convince him to come with us to the marriage office. After hearing her story I became very angry. She begged me for forgiveness, but I didn't have any other option than killing her. I put a piece of cloth in her mouth. she didn't show any resistance. With another piece of cloth I made a noose and put it around her neck and hanged her. My anger wasn't finished. I took her down and stubbed her with a knife".

According to teh ISCA news, since the victim's parents do not have any complaint, Morteza crime is not going to be punished as a murder and he is most probably going to get a 3-5 years prison sentence.

See online : A man hanged his own sister because she lwanted to marry a man she loved

A father killed his 18 years old daughter in Birjand

Iran Human Rights — 2008-05-20T15:04:36Z

Iran Human Rights, May 20: A father had killed his 18 years old daughter by strangulation, reported teh government news paper Iran today. According to the report the police found the body of the 18 years old in a river near the town of Birjand, with a head scarf around her neck. The girl is identified as Asieh and was 18 years old. The girl's father who first told the police that his daughter had committed suicide, confessed later that he had strangulated his daughter on Saturday May 17. He told the police that he did it because he was suspicious of his daughter and had warned her not to continue her acts and respect his and her husbands honor. The father is identified as Brat Ali (47) according to the report.

The incidence of honur killings has been increasing in the past years in Iran. The experts believe it is due to the laws included in the Iranian constitution after the revolution of 1979.

For instance Article 220 of the Iranian Criminal Code states, “If a father – or his male ancestors – kills his child, he will not be condemned for a murder". Likewise, article 1179 of the Civil Code states, “Parents have the right to punish their children within the limits prescribed by law.” A father killed his 17 years old daughter in Isfahan last week. Another father killed his daughter in the city of Dezful on April 30.

See online : A father killed his 18 years old daughter in Birjand

Father killed his daughter with a hammer and burned her body

Iran Human Rights — 2008-05-19T06:12:44Z

Iran Human Rights, May 19: A father killed his 24 years old daughter with a hammer and burned her body, outside Dezful in the province of Khuzestan, reported the Iranian daily newspaper Quds. He told the police that his 24 years old daughter "had been enganged in temporary marriages without his permission, and she had moral "issues". The night f April 30. while she was sleeping I killed her by hitting her with a hammer and then drove her body outside the town and burned it. I told my wife that I would kill her too if she told the police". He was suspected for the murder since honour killings are frequent in the province of Khuzestan.

The incidence of honur killings has been increasing in the past years in Iran. The experts believe it is due to the laws included in the Iranian constitution after the revolution of 1979.

Last week a father killed his 17 years old daughter in Isfahan. The reason was that she had been kidnapped and possibly sexually abused by her brother in law.

See online : Father killed his daughter with a hammer and burned her body

A father killed his daughter in Isfahan- Another father buried his daughter alive in Tehran

Iran Human Rights — 2008-05-13T06:11:46Z

Iran Human Rights, May 12: A man identified as Ahmad (53) has killed his 17 years old daughter, identified as Farzaneh, Wednesday morning May 7., in Isfahan, reported several Iranian newspapers such as Etemaad.

Ahmad told the reporters that "Farzaneh had been kidnapped and held by Saeed, the former husband of his other daughter, for ten days. In order to save my family's honour I had either to commit suicide or kill Farzaneh. After talking to Farzaneh she said that she would rather die. Thats why I killed her".

The daily newspaper Etemaad reported a more detail version of the story on May 11. According to this report, the 53 years old father Ahmad tells his story in this way: "Seven months ago, Saeed got married to my older daughter. After a while he started showing lack of interest towards my daughter. He wanted to divorce her and wanted to marry my younger daughter Farzaneh. I didn't accept that. After divorcing my older daughter Saeed continued showing interest for Farzaneh. Finally he kidnapped her and stayed with her for 10 days. We tried to solve the problem without involving the authorities, but had to contact the police who arrested Saeed and Farzaneh. On Tuesday (May 6.) we brought Farzaneh home from custody. First I beat her up. She just cried and apologized for what had happened. I felt pity for her but couldn't liberate myself from thoughts that hurt my honour. Tuesday night I sat by Farzaneh and told her that one of us had to die in order to solve this issue and save our honour. She kissed my forehead and said if someone had to die it must be her. On my request, that night Farzaneh slept in another room downstairs. I had decided to put an end to her life and everyone in the family knew what was going to happen. During the night I sat several times by her bed and looked at her innocent face. At the time of the morning prayer I went to her and waked her and her sister up. We talked for the last time and I repeated to her that just one of us could live. She laid down and volunteered to die. She kissed my face for the last time and I said good bye to her. I put her hands into her sister's hands and put a pre-prepared plastic bag on her face. She didn't show any resistance. We had decided to show it as a suicide. But later we contacted the police and told them the story".

Ahmad (the father), Saeed (the former son in law) and Farzaneh's older sister are at the custody of the police.

Honour killings are occurrng in Iran with a much higher incidence than before. These phenomena are not only occurring in the remote villages, but higher incidence of honour killings are being observed in the bigger Iranian cities.

Human rights advocates believe the increasing incidence of honour killings is due to the laws inserted in the Iranian constitution after 1980.

On May 6, the state run Iranian news agency Fars reported about a girl who had been buried alive by her father in Tehran. It was because she was a drug addict. The father has first beaten her up and then buried her while she was still alive in a grave. The girl was saved by the people passing by and transferred to the hospital.

See online : killed his daughter in Isfahan- buried alive in Tehran

A 14 years old girl stoned to death by her father

Iran Human Rights — 2008-02-15T07:29:47Z

Iran Human Rights, February 14: A 14 years old girl, identified as Saeedeh, has been stoned to death by her own father, reported the daily newspaper Qods yesterday. According to the report, the father who is identified as Mohammad Sharif told the authorities that when he found out about his 14 years old daughter's relationship with a boy, he took Saeedeh to the mountains around the city of zahedan and killed her by stoning and then shooting four bullets at her. His friend, identified as Gholam, accompanied and helped him, according to the daily. Both of them were reportedly arrested.

Another daily newspaper, Etemad, reported a similar story with some differences. In this report, the 14 years old girl is identified as Somayeh, and the person helping Sharif is identified as Ghafour. This report doesn't mention that the 14 years old girl was shot, but quoting the father says: "When we were taking her (somayeh) to the mountains, she was scared but still didn't know what she was expecting. Upon arrival to the scheduled place, I threw Somayeh on the ground and started the stoning. She was screaming and begging for her life, but I had to save my honor and didn't have any other choice than killing her....".
According to the report, Ghafour (the man who helped Sharif) had also invited other people to participate in the stoning. But it is not mentioned whether other people than Sharif and Ghafour took part in the stoning.

According to the human rights activists, the incidence of honor killings have increased in the past years in Iran.

Iranian authorities have stoned to death at least one man in 2007 and one woman in 2006. Several people are in the row to be stoned to death in different Iranian prisons. At least two women and one man are at imminent risk of death by stoning.

In 2004, Atefeh Sahaaleh Rajabi (16) was hanged in public in the town of Neka, convicted for "immoral" acts.

See online : Father stoned his daughter to death in Zahedan