Teenage Girl Brutally Murdered by Her Brother in Divandareh, Iran

Rozhin Azimi
age: 18
beaten to death: June 3, 2023
Residence: Divandareh, Razavi-Khorasan
Origin: Iran
Children: none
Perpetrator: her brother

On Saturday, June 3, 18-year-old Rozhin Azimi was brutally murdered in Divandareh, a village located in northeastern Iran. Her brother had struck her repeatedly on the head with a hammer, allegedly due to her relationship with a boy.

The authorities promptly arrested Rozhin Azimi's parents and brother. After a day of questioning, the mother was released, while the father and brother remain in custody.

In Iran, brothers who murder their sister for 'honor' are hardly punished because of Article 301 of the Penal Code. If he is found guilty by judges, he will be sentenced to between three and ten years imprisonment.

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.
wants to end the relationship.
was the victim of rape or sexual assault.
was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.