A smiling man has been captured on camera parading the decapitated head of his teenage wife through the streets.
Sajjad Heydari was seen walking with a blade in one hand and the head of his wife in the other in the streets of Ahvaz, in the south-western province of Khuzestan, Iran, after having allegedly taken part in an “honour killing” with his brother.
Video and images of the gruesome scene have provoked outcry from women's rights activists.
The Daily Star reports, the victim, a 17-year-old identified as Mona Heydari, was the mother of a three-year-old boy.
The Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said the victim was forced to marry Sajjad, her own cousin, when she was just 12 years old.
The young girl was believed to have been a victim of domestic violence.
Every time she mentioned wanting a divorce, her family had reportedly pressured her to stay at home for the sake of the child.
Local media reported that the brothers wrapped Mona’s body in a blanket and dumped it in one area, while her husband walked along the street with his wife's head in one hand and a large blade in the other.
The chief of the State Security Force (SSF) said the motive for the killing was "family differences".
The NCRI's Women's Committee said: "Not a week goes by without some form of honour killing making headlines.
"The catastrophic rise in honour killings in Iran is rooted in misogyny and the patriarchal culture institutionalised in the laws and society.
"Although the father, brother or husband holds the knife, sickle or rifle, the murders are rooted in the medieval outlook of the ruling regime."
The suspect and his brother were reportedly arrested after the alleged killing.
It was unclear what punishment they would face.
