Honor Killing in Iran -- Father Stones 14 Year Old Daughter to Death

Honor Killing in Iran -- Father Stones 14 Year Old Daughter To Death

By:  Lily Mazahery and Marjan Laghaee

The case file of a father who murdered his daughter in an act of "honor killing" with the assistance of another man by stoning her to death, is now under review in Zahedan's general court.  According to our reporter, a few days ago, a distraught woman, who was crying uncontrollably, contacted the authorities in city of Zahedan, and reported the murder of her daughter.  The woman stated:  "My husband, whose name is Sharif, is a suspicious and cruel man who abused me and my daughter.  He was particularly harsh on Samieh, my 14 year old daughter, until he finally found an excuse to take her out of the house and to am undisclosed locations.  After that, she did not return home, and I did not hear from Samieh."  The woman went on to explain: "Sharif was suspicious of my daughter and thought that she is having relations with a man.  On several occasions, he threatened to kill her, and, on the day of the [Samieh's disappearance], he was extremely angry and I think that he has somehow harmed my child."

After the women's statement, the authorities immediately went to work and began a search for Sharif as well as an investigation into the whereabouts of the teenage girl.  Within 24 hours, the authorities were able to locate and arrest Samieh's father.  The suspect, who in the initial stages of investigation had opted to remain silent and refused to provide any information about the whereabouts of his daughter, finally confessed, and provided a disturbing account of Samieh's murder.  Sharif stated:  "A while ago, I noticed that my 14 year old daughter is acting suspiciously.  Initially, I tried to approach the issue gently, and to find out why Samieh is acting this way.  She would leave the house without any reason, and when she returned, she could not provide a convincing explanation.  Finally, I could not take it any more and I got in a fight with her, but that didn't do any good because my daughter accused me of being suspicious and maintained that she has not done anything wrong.  After a while, I became fully convinced that Samieh is having relations with a man.  I perceived my honor to have been damaged, and tolerating such a condition and remaining silent was like death to me.  So I decided to kill Samieh and rid myself of this shame.  In this context, I had to make a decision about how I should kill Samieh and save myself from such disgrace.  I had to choose a method for killing my daughter that would fit her wrong-doing.  Finally, I became convinced that I should stone her to death, but because I could not personally carry out the execution by myself, I sought the assistance of my friend, Ghafoor.   When he learned about my problem, he accepted to help me kill Samieh to wash the stain of disgrace from my family.  Ghafoor contacted a few other people and established the time and place to carry out the act.  On the day of the incident, I forcefully took my daughter out of the house and dragged her to the outskirts of Holoor.  She was terrified during the whole trip, and while she realized that she is about to face a horrifying fate, she was not sure of the punishment that I had planned for her.  When we reached the planned destination, I threw my daughter on the ground and we began to stone her.  Samieh kept screaming and pleaded and begged for her life.  But, in order to restore my honor and return myself to a respectable life, I had no choice but to kill her.  Then I fled."

After the shocking confession of the murder suspect, the authorities continued their investigation, and found the body of the 14 year old Samieh.  They also arrested Ghafoor for his role in the murder of the teenage girl.  With the confession provided by the second suspect, Ghafoor, the case has been sent to undergo official trial proceedings.  Currently, Ghafoor and Sharif remain in prison until the trial has been conducted.

Link:  http://www.savedelara.com/Samieh+Stoning.html