A toddler bride faces execution in Iran for the murder of her husband – after years trapped in an abusive marriage – unless she raises £80,000 to repay his family.
Goli Koohkan, now 25, was aged 12 when her parents married her off to a cousin without her consent. On the age of 13, she was pregnant.
And on the age of 18, she was arrested and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for participation within the killing, and thrown in Gorgan Central Prison in northern Iran.
A source told the Iran Human Rights (IHR) non-profit organisation: ‘On the day of the murder, her husband had been beating each Goli and their young son.
‘Desperate and helpless, she called his cousin for help. When he arrived, a fight broke out which ended along with her husband being unintentionally killed.
‘Goli called for an ambulance and told the authorities every part.’
It is known that the fight began after Koohkan returned home to search out that her husband had beaten up their five-year-old boy.
She was sentenced to death by hanging and has already spent seven years behind bars, making her the longest-serving female inmate in Gorgan.
(Picture: Getty)
Under Iranian law, the family of the victim can pardon her in exchange for a ‘blood money’ payment – compensation paid in cases of murder or bodily harm.
As her family has completely abandoned the victim since her arrest, former cellmates launched a campaign to boost the cash by December, when the agreement expires.
To date, they’ve managed to gather collect roughly 1.5 per cent of what’s being demanded.
Koohkan comes from the Baluch minority, one in all Iran’s most marginalized communities, and like many others, she lacks official identity documents.
Human rights activists warn her case is emblematic of the discriminatory treatment of ladies and minorities in Iran, where child marriage is legal and there are limited legal protections against domestic violence.
The source told IHR: ‘Goli was 12 when she was forced to marry a cousin. A 12 months later, she gave birth to a son at home without medical care.
‘While pregnant, she was forced to do heavy farm and house work and consistently subjected to physical violence by the hands of her husband who also cut her contact along with her family and friends.’
A former cellmate who spoke to IranWire said Koohkan nearly died giving birth to her son under difficult conditions.
‘Her pelvis was too small, so she was afraid, and this became the rationale for violence against her,’ they said.
The abuse centered on pressure for her to have more children.
Each try and flee the abusive marriage had been unsuccessful as a consequence of each her undocumented status and pressure from her family and the community.
Once, Koohkan managed to flee, but when she returned to her parents’ home in search of help, her father threatened her.
He told her that she had left for her husband’s house ‘in white clothes and would go to the cemetery in a white shroud.’
Iran executes the best number of ladies on the earth – many after sham trials and allegations of torture.
This only worsened because the Women Life Freedom protests that began in September 2022 after the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini.
In 2024, at the least 31 women were reportedly executed up from 22 in 2023 – the deadliest 12 months since 2015.
Of the 19 women executed for murder, nine had been convicted of killing their husbands in cases involving domestic violence or forced or child marriage, areas through which Iranian women don’t have any legal protections.
Beyond executions, femicide cases skyrocketed, with 179 reported in 2024 in comparison with 55 the 12 months before.
Many stemmed from so-called ‘honour’ crimes or family disputes, often involving women and girls in search of divorce or rejecting marriage proposals.
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