Iranian man beheaded his 17-year-old wife Mona Heydari

Photo Credit: Daily Mail

An Iranian man this week carried the severed head of his wife through the streets after decapitating her in an 'honour killing' after she tried to flee the country.

The unnamed man beheaded his wife Mona Heydari, 17, in the southwestern city of Ahvaz on Saturday before carrying her severed head around the streets.

The young wife is understood to have fled to Turkey after her family discovered that she had an affair. 

But she was tracked to the country and brought back to Iran by her father and her husband this week, according to local media reports. 

The victim was just 12 when she was married to the man - who is also her cousin - and had a three-year-old son by the time she was killed. 

Authorities have arrested the husband and his brother on charges of killing Mona in revenge for adultery and leaving him. Police did not release the men's names.

Gruesome footage showed the husband grinning as he held a knife in one hand and carrying what was said to be his wife's decapitated head in the another.

The incident has shocked many people in Iran where the legal age for marriage are 13 and women are compelled to wear a head covering in accordance with Islam. 

Iranian newspapers and social media saw an outpouring of shock and rage over the killing, with many demanding social and legal reforms.



PUKmedia / Daily Mail