In an honor killing, someone commits murder because they think their honor is at stake. In Iran, this often happens when a victim decides to cancel a pre-arranged marriage, has been raped or had sex with someone else outside his or her marriage.
Seventeen-year-old Mona had tried to escape her husband because he abused her. She was married to him at the age of twelve and gave birth to a son at the age of fourteen.
Initially, she seemed to have escaped him and fled to Turkey, the British broadcaster writes. On the advice of her family, she returned to Iran in February last year, claiming they could keep her safe. She was murdered a few days later.
The assassination sparked outrage in Iran. Despite this, the man does not receive the maximum sentence, the death penalty, because Mona’s family would have forgiven him. Mona’s father had previously stated that he had not given permission for the murder, writes BBC News.
The suspect’s brother was also sentenced to almost four years in prison for complicity.
