but the judge said the killer could get out on parole sooner than usual because he is Iranian.
Mohammad Hamid-Zadeh, 32, was convicted in Auckland for the murder of Farasad Razani, 30. Hamid-Zadeh had stabbed or slashed Razani 59 times last October.
Hamid-Zadeh had planted a listening device in the apartment he and his wife still shared with Razani although the couple had separated. Hamid-Zadeh attacked Razani after hearing him having sex with his estranged wife over the microphone.
After sentencing Hamid-Zadeh to life last Thursday, the judge said the minimum prison time of 17 years before parole eligibility for cases of especially brutal murders would be “manifestly unjust” in this case. She lowered that minimum to 12 1/2 years saying she took into consideration the discovery of the sexual relationship and also the fact Hamid-Zadeh was from Iran where marital problems were viewed more seriously, The Dominion Post reported.
Hamid-Zadeh and his wife moved to New Zealand as refugees in 2009.
