This archive report was first published on 5 July 2021.
Published on July 5, 2021, a shocking case in Iran has left the nation reeling. An elderly couple, Akbar Khorramdin, 81, and his wife, Iran Mousavi, 74, have been accused of murdering their son, Babak, 47, who was found in a garbage bin in May.
The couple's arrest has led to a series of revelations, including the discovery of missing-person reports filed for their daughter, Arezou, who disappeared in 2018, and her husband, Faramarz, who went missing in 2011. The couple has confessed to the killings, stating that they adopted a pattern over years, sedating their victims with sleeping pills, binding, suffocating, and stabbing them, before dismembering the corpses in the bathtub and disposing of the remains in trash bins.
The couple's motives, according to their statements, were rooted in their disapproval of their children's lifestyles. They accused their son of being physically aggressive, freeloading off them, and having sex with girlfriends, while their daughter was addicted to drugs and drank alcohol, and her husband was abusive and dealt drugs.
However, friends and acquaintances of the victims have disputed these claims, describing them as kind and respectable individuals. The case has sparked outrage and demands for reform in Iran's penal code, which currently exempts fathers and grandfathers from the death penalty for murdering their children.
As the investigation continues, the couple's behavior has raised eyebrows, with Mr. Khorramdin flashing a victory sign in prison and stating that he would do it all over again if released. The case has brought attention to the issue of honor killings in Iran and the need for reform in the country's laws.
