ON SATURDAY February 5 reports emerged of a grisly video being widely circulated online in Iran showing a man carrying the severed head of his 17-year-old wife, Mona Haidari, in one hand and the bloody dagger he had used to behead her in the other, having supposedly restored his “honour” and that of his family.

Haidari had been married to the killer, her paternal cousin, at the age of just 12. She was the mother of a three-year-old boy. Her treatment at the hands of her husband was abusive and violent throughout the marriage. Haidari is alleged to have become involved in an illicit online relationship with a Syrian national residing in neighbouring Turkey and was persuaded to attempt to escape her marriage and join him there. Haidari fled to Tehran to be smuggled by people traffickers across the border into Turkey.

Haidari then resided for a time with the Syrian man in Turkey before being tracked down by her father. Having been assured by her father that she would be safe and face no repercussions once back home, Haidari returned with him to Iran. Just a few days later she was dragged by her husband out of the vehicle in which she was travelling with her family. This was the last time she was seen before the emergence of the horrific video clip over a week ago. Her husband and his brother were arrested and detained by the police around four hours after the video was taken.