A popular film director in Iran, Babak Khorranmdin, 47, has reportedly been murdered by his family in an honour killing row over not getting married.
Khorranmdin’s body parts were discovered in a suitcase and bins outside his parents’ home in Iran following an ‘honour killing’ for not getting married .
Babak Khorranmdin, who is a London-based film director, was sedated and cut into pieces, and his body parts were discovered in bins and a suitcase on Sunday, May 16 after he returned from living in London, iranwire.com reported.
His father confessed to the killing after he and his wife were arrested in Ekbatan, west Tehran, according to Rokna news agency.
His father reportedly said: “Because of the disputes we had, I sedated him this morning (Sunday) by giving him anaesthetics, then stabbed him to death. Then I dismembered his body and threw it in the nearest trash can on the street with my wife.”
Tehran’s Police Station found evidence of the murder whilst searching the family home, it was reported.
Since the news broke, tributes from friends who knew Mr Khorramdin through his work and studies in UK cinema have been pouring in.
He moved to London a year after graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran in 2009 with a master’s degree in cinema.
He studied film in the capital and had returned to Iran to teach the subject to his country folk when he was killed.
According to Iran International TV, the honour killing “has shocked the country”.
Iran International TV Middle East Analyst and Editor Jason Brodsky said: “I think the horrific death of Babak Khorramdin is only the latest example of a long pattern of domestic violence that we have seen in Iran.
“It follows the tragic death of Ali Fazeli Monfared, who was killed by family members after they found out he was gay. That is not to mention the case last year of Romina Ashfrafi, a 14-year-old girl who was beheaded by her father in an honour killing.
“Despite a child protection law being passed in 2020 in Iran, honour killings and domestic violence continue more broadly, and this is an area the international community needs to address with Iran.”