Sonya Dehghan, a young woman, has been murdered by her family in an alleged “honour killing” in Sardasht, in western Iran, on 13 January.
A source in Sardasht told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) that “The 24-year- old Sonia Dehghan, who had recently separated from her second husband, was living with her 6- year-old son in the old house of her grandparents in Sardasht. On 13 January, while working in a beauty salon, she was taken home, tortured, and stabbed to death by her brother and cousin”.
According to the source, Sonia’s parents had separated years ago. Sonia’s mother, who was worried about her daughter’s whereabouts, filed a complaint against Sonia’s father’s family, and subsequently the victim’s 19-year-old brother and cousin were arrested by the Sardasht Intelligence Office. They confessed to Sonia’s murder and burying her body next to the Sardasht Dam.
Dehghan’s body was then buried by members of her mother’s family in the city of Nelas in Sardasht. The forensic report confirmed that she had been beaten before being murdered.
Although the young woman’s family has not yet commented on the cause of the murder, according to her friends and relatives, Dehghan was a victim of “honour killing”.