Iran: Outcry At 9 -Year Sentence For Father Who Beheaded His 14 Year Old Daughter; 'Honor Killing'
'Outcry in Iran at nine-year sentence for man who beheaded daughter.' Mother of 14-year-old victim expresses fury at lenient sentence as critics say Iranian law unfairly favours men. By Patrick Wintour, The Guardian, Aug. 28, 2020.
- 14 Year Old Romina Ashrafi was beheaded by her father for eloping with a 28 year old man.
An Iranian man who beheaded his 14-year-old daughter has been sentenced to only nine years in jail, in a case that has sparked outrage at the way Iranian law appears to enshrine supposed male rights over women’s lives. Rana Dashti, the mother of 14-year-old Romina Ashrafi, expressed fury at the lenient sentence in an interview with the Iranian Labor news agency (Ilna) on Friday and said the court’s ruling had “caused fear and panic for me and my family”.
Romina was murdered by her father after she ran off with a man aged 28. Dashti said she would appeal against the decision, and that after 15 years she had no interest in continuing to live with her husband. She added she was worried about the lives of her only son and other relations. “I no longer want my husband to return to the village,” she told the news agency
The case has sparked controversy in Iran about the frequency of so-called “honour” killings, the rights of children, and gender bias in Iranian courts. Efforts to tighten the law to protect children have previously fallen foul of Iran’s Guardian Council, which ruled that parliament’s plans were un-Islamic. Critics say parts of the Iranian penal code are predicated on the assumption that men are entitled to discipline women and girls if they do not conform to the social roles attributed to them.
Romina had pleaded with the judiciary not to return her to her father since she feared he might attack her, but her request was ignored. The father – who in Iran is considered the “guardian” of his daughter – had filed a complaint, and the girl, once summoned by the police, had begged the judge not to send her home because she knew her father would try to kill her...
More, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/28/outcry-in-iran-at-nine-year-sentence-for-man-who-beheaded-daughter
= new reply since forum marked as read
'Man pleads guilty in Va. Tech decapitation.' Prosecutor: Woman was killed after she rejected assailant's overtures. NBC News, Dec. 21, 2009.
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. — A former Virginia Tech student accused of decapitating another student at a campus eatery pleaded guilty to murder Monday as prosecutors described the killer as an obsessed, jilted lover. Haiyang Zhu had fallen in love with Xin Yang but she rejected him, saying she had a boyfriend she planned to marry, prosecutors said in revealing a motive for the first time. Zhu faces up to life in prison. He did not say why he killed the woman during the plea hearing.
Prosecutor Brad Finch said on the morning of Jan. 21, Zhu bought the 8-inch butcher knife used in the murder, two other knives and a claw hammer. He also called the 22-year-old a dozen times after buying the weapons. Finch also cited a letter Zhu wrote while in jail, which said Yang's rejection "forced him to kill her" because "he loved her too much." "Xin broke his heart on the morning of January 20th when she told him that she had a boyfriend and that they planned to get married," the letter said, according to Finch.
- Haiyang Zhu listens to the judge explain procedures in a courtroom in Christiansburg, Va., on Monday. Zhu, 26, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the Jan. 21 death of Xin Yang, 22.
Before the killing, Zhu penned what Finch termed a love letter that was found in her dorm room after her death. The letter was written shortly after Zhu first met her and indicated he had "fallen deeply in love." "She makes him happy and fulfilled, that she is beautiful and that he will treasure her forever," Finch said. "The defendant asked Xin to be his girlfriend." Finch also described the attack in detail, noting that Yang suffered numerous defensive wounds to her hands and arms as she tried to fend off Zhu. She eventually fell and he severed her head. He was holding it when police arrived.
- Xin Yang
No argument heard before attack. About seven other people who were in the shop at the time told police the two hadn't been arguing before the attack. The killing stunned a campus that still had vivid memories of the mass slayings in April 2007, when a student gunman shot 32 people and then took his own life. The stabbing was the first slaying on campus since then. It appeared Yang, who was from Beijing, had met Zhu of Ningbo, China, only recently, Kim Beisecker, the director of Cranwell International Center, has said. Zhu, a doctoral student in agricultural and applied economics, had been assisting her in adjusting to life at Tech, something the 500 Chinese students often do for new members in their community.
Montgomery Circuit Judge Robert Turk said Zhu faces up to life in prison when sentenced on April 19. While a fellow teaching assistant described Zhu as personable, his landlord said Zhu behaved oddly and was "belligerent" at times...
More, http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34510604/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/man-pleads-guilty-va-tech-decapitation/#.X0qRAX6SnIU
