Iranian husband carries severed head of 17-year-old wife through streets after ‘honor killing’

Heydari reportedly fled the country after her family discovered that she had an affair, but was tracked down by her husband and father and brought back into Iran. The victim was reportedly married to the man, who is her cousin, when she was just 12-years-old. The couple had a three-year-old son together. Authorities have arrested both the father and the brother, but have yet to release their names.

Horrifying footage shows the husband walking through the street with a grin on his face, holding a severed head in one hand and a large, bloody knife in the other.

The state-run IRAN newspaper reported Monday that a media supervisory board shut down the Rokna website, where the video was posted, the day prior because of its continuing to "publish images and issues that violate public decency."

Fellow member of parliament Elham Nadaf told the ILNA news agency: "Unfortunately, we are witnessing such incidents because there are no concrete measures to ensure the implementation of laws to prevent violence against women."

The semi-official news agency ILNA quoted police officer Col. Sohrab Hosseinnejad as saying the "defendants confessed to the murder during the police investigation and were introduced to the judicial authority."

According to Iran International: "Honor killings are prevalent in some parts of Iran, mostly due to societal beliefs and the Islamic Republic’s lax laws and light sentences that encourage the behavior. Article 630 of the Constitution exempts a husband from punishment if he kills if he witnesses adultery."

"According to Sharia law, only the 'blood owners' (the immediate family members) are allowed to demand execution for the murder of their loved one, therefore most honor killings go unpunished since families do not demand heavy punishment for another family member," they added.

"None of the perpetrators have been brought to justice as most of the families haven’t even filed a lawsuit," according to Iran International.

While the exact number of honor killings in Iran is not known, the Daily Mail reported that a Tehran police official has previously said they account for around 20 percent of Iran's murders.