Mona Heydari, Caught Between Social Media, Honor Killing, The Closure Of A Media Agency, And The Internet's Wrath

The internet, and the media in general, focuses on the West, partly because pretty much all major platforms and social media originate from there.

While many internet users come from all around the world, not everyone use the same platform, and not not all platforms are publicly available, or popular to the general internet.

The coverage of news can be influenced by various factors such as media bias, geopolitical dynamics, and cultural differences. In some cases, certain news from may not receive as much attention in Western media due to differing priorities or perspectives.

Western media often focuses on stories that are deemed more relevant to their audience or align with their editorial policies. Additionally, geopolitical tensions and government regulations can also impact the dissemination of news from certain regions.

But the case that involved Ghazaleh "Mona" Heydari is different.

Her case gained the world's attention, and also the internet's wrath

This is because her case is pretty much nothing the internet has ever seen before.

Ghazaleh "Mona" Heydari was only a teenager when she was killed.

She was brutally murdered by her husband, who is supposed to be the man protect her.

And not just that, because the man also beheaded Mona, and paraded the severed head for everyone to see.

Her husband, Sajjad Heydari, is seen smiling while he carried his wife's head in his hand, showing practically zero remorse.

The horror caused widespread outrage in Iran, and led to calls for reforming a draft law that would criminalize violence against women.

The cases was an eye opener to the world, showing how the so-called "honor killing" still exists in some parts of the world, and that the culture somehow retains it as something relevant.

While Sajjad was arrested by the Iranian police, he was only sentenced to more than 8 years in prison,

When the news caught the world's attention, the internet also took notice, and many were displeased.

Mona Heydari was born on December 2004, and that she was married Sajjad Heydari when she was still 12.

In Iran, sex outside marriage is illegal due to the Islam sharia law. The government allows the minimum age of marriage in Iran is 15 for men and 13 for women. So here, the couple was nothing unusual. In fact, in 2010, as many as 42,000 children aged between 10 and 14 were married in Iran, and 716 girls younger than 10 were married, but with the permission of a court.

Among the things required, is a certificate issued by the court based on physical condition that the girl has reached puberty and is physically capable of pregnancy. In other words, couples obtain the certificate to justify that the woman is sexually mature, and is ready for marriage.

Mona gave birth to a daughter when she was 14.

What supposed to be a happy marriage, things were far from it.

Mona never experienced growing up like many other girls.

She was born to a conservative muslim family, and that her parents had her married to Sajjad, which was actually her cousin. And then, it's also revealed that Sajjad was actually abusive.

Mona experienced abuse from Sajjad both physical and verbal, she frequently fled from her home to escape the unbearable abuse..

But because of her conservative parents, seeking refuge at her parents' house is not an option, because soon, she was told to return to Sajjad. Even when Mona tearfully asked them for assistance, they were of little help.

Having a divorce is also not an option because it carries a heavy stigma for women. What's more, in Iran, divorce is also harder for women.

Clearly having the weakest position of them all, Mona was caught in a constant cycle of torment and suffering.

While the history of Mona and her family is unknown, reports said that Mona never truly experienced genuine affection.

Because she was told to marry at such a young age, Mona also never had a chance to fall in love and choose her own partner. And being married to an abusive husband, and having no way to escape, Mona was caught in between saving her sanity, and also the responsibility of being a mother.

In Iran, despite many websites are blocked, Mona was just like any other girl her age, who use a smartphone and use apps.

But for Mona, her getaway from the real world was social media, most notably, Instagram.

It was using the photo- and video-sharing app, that Mona met a Syrian man older than her. His name is Ali, who said to be living in Mersin, a port city in southern Turkey on the Mediterranean coast.

Mona opened up to Ali about her struggles including the abuse she faced and her feeling of being imprisoned in her own home. But unlike her parents, and her husband, Ali was passionate, and that he was always understanding. He frequently lent an year to hear Mona, and that it didn't take long until Mona developed a feeling for him.

For the first time in her life, Mona experienced real love.

And to pursue her newfound happiness and the desperation for freedom, Mona escaped her home to meet the man of her dream.

On November 20th 2021, Mona successfully fled and flew to Turkey, to find comfort in Ali's arms.

In photos recovered later, likely taken by Ali, it's seen that Mona appeared happy and joyous.

Back home, her family was desperate.

Mona didn't bring anything with her other than a bag of clothes. She didn't notify anyone, and that she escaped after her 3-year-old baby was being cared by her other family member.

About 4 months later, the family realized that Mona was in Turkey, and that her father asked the Iranian Embassy in Turkey for assistance.

Her father and her uncle the flew to Turkey to pick up Mona.

Mona was shocked, and was never expecting to be found like that.

While Mona said that she didn't want to return because of the abuse from her husband, her father and uncle managed to convince her to return home, especially for the sake of her child. And to ensure that Mona obliged, they also promised her safety.

Mona returned to Iran on February, but before anything, and before confronting her husband, she planned to go to the police to ask for legal protection.

But before she could do that, Sajjad and his brother Haida stopped her car, and then drove her away.

The three went to a secluded house she and Sajjad once shared in Ahvaz, a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran.

There, the horror happened.

Mona, who was clearly overpowered by the two men who were older than her, had her hands and legs tied. The helpless Mona asked for forgiveness, and said that she would even do anything to be released.

But Sajjad's anger was beyond reasoning. The man grabbed a machete, pulled Mona's long hair to expose her neck, and began chopping her head off.

Without hesitation, Sajjad separated Mona's head from her body.

While the body was rolled in a thick blanket to be disposed of by Haida, Sajjad carried the head to another neighborhood.

This was when Sajjad was recorded on camera by bystanders, holding Mona's head by the hair like a trophy, strolling down the streets, barefoot, grinning.

Witnesses who were shocked by the scene quickly contacted the police.

Rokna news agency, which was amongst the first that published the unedited, uncensored footage, was quickly suspended because of this.

Iran’s press regulatory authority has shut down the agency, in violation of the country’s laws regulating media.

The Committee for the Supervision of the Press voted overwhelmingly for the closure, saying that Rokna published a series of images and content that breached "public decency" and reported incidents "in contradiction with the society’s mental hygiene."

Rokna’s Managing Director Masoud Ebrahimi admitted "the mistake."

"I accept the views of the Supervisory Committee. The video may have disrupted public opinion. Mistakes happen in the work of media and we are no exception," he added.

The news further amplified Mona's death, and that more and more people were curious about it.

This was when the video made its round to social media, catching the attention of the world.

Sajjad and Haida were arrested within less than 24 hours, and that during the investigation, the two's mother was also questioned.

The mother admitted that Sajjad had a history of violence towards Mona, and often, he also threatened to kill Mona when he was angry. The mother didn't deny her sons' involvements in the murder, but claimed that it was done for a reason.

The mother said that Ali, the Turkish man Mona had an affair with, had been sending Sajjad photos of himself with Mona. Ali's intention was to show Sajjad that Mona was happier with him, and away from his abusive environment. This provoked Sajjad, and also his family.

Undermined after learning his wife was happier with another man, implying infidelity, Sajjad was fueled by anger.

He perceived this as a betrayal, and according to the mother, his action was a form of honor killing.

Honor killing can be described as a killing that involves murdering a family member believed to be compromising the honor of their family or a specific family member while it implies that any dishonorable act could lead to such a killing victims are predominantly women and girls in such cases.

The killing usually requires approval from the family's most authoritative figure, and in this case, it's Sajjad's father.

However, Sajjad didn't ask for Mona parents permission.

But still, the laws implemented in Iran, includes provisions for punishing adultery sometimes with death. And in this case, the 'honor killing' is indeed a criminal, and that the perpetrator can be arrested, but the punishment is often less severe than expected for other kinds of murder.

The trial began on January 2023, with Mona's father, Javad, considering applying the qisas law, which is a principle of an eye for an eye against Sajjad and Haida. But later, he changed his stance, and even sided with Sajjad as he deemed his daughter was committing adultery and was having an extramarital affair with Ali.

He deemed his daughter's actions unacceptable and consequently, he stopped pursuing the case.

Her father said that his decision to have Mona marry Sajjad at the age of 13 was to prevent her from engaging in sex outside marriage, or zina in Islam, which is considered a sin. Mona's father, who considered Sajjad a hardworking man, claimed that his daughter never sought for divorce, which he perceived that everything was still acceptable, despite witnessing her distress.

With Mona's father's pardoning Sajjad and Haida, the case was then treated not like other kinds of murder.

In Iran, honor killings are punishable in Iran by up to 10 years in prison - unlike murder, which carries a sentence of life imprisonment or the death penalty.

As a result, Sajjad was only sentenced to 7 and a half years in prison for complicity in intentional murder and 8 months in prison for intentional assault.

As for Haida, he only received a 45 months prison sentence for becoming Sajjad's accomplice in the honor killing case. It's said that he committed suicide in September 2023

Following the case, the issue of the bill to ensure the security of women in Iran has been raised by social activists and the media.

Iranian activists said that the bill to protect the dignity and support of women against violence has not only been delayed in parliament and has not been approved after 12 years, but whispers are heard that the government has taken this bill from the parliament again. The Secretary-General of the United Nations in Iran reacted to the heinous murder of Mona Heydari on Twitter.

Azar Mansouri, an Iranian reformist politician and the founding member of the Union of Islamic Iran People Party, raised the issue of the bill to ensure the security of women.

It's worth noting that some news publications said that Ali was not the real name of the man Mona had affair with.

It's said that his real name was Abd Jamung (عبد جمونگ), and that he was a sex trafficker who actually tricked Mona, and "kidnapped" her for ransom. Publications also suggested this because Mona's family contacted the Interpol to arrest him.

It's said that upon realizing that Mona has gold with her, the Syrian man also mistreated Mona, and extorted her family by demanding a ransom of $5,000.

Mona's family filed a case against him to the Interpol. When the man was arrested, Mona, was entrusted to a children’s camp. It was only after that, that her father and uncle went to Turkey.

The internet is a huge landscape where information can travel in the speed of light.

It's essentially a mix of what people can enjoy and what's trending.

But sometimes, things like honor killing expose people to distressing content, where usually, extreme violence, and even murder happened.