July 19, 2019
The high-profile trial of former Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Ali Najafi on charges that he killed his second wife has started.
Najafi appeared in a Tehran criminal court July 13, accused of shooting his second wife, Mitra Ostad, to death in her apartment in the capital with a pistol.
The charge sheet read out in court included murder, assault, battery and illegal possession of a weapon. Some thought Najafi might be charged with manslaughter rather than murder since he explained that his wife was killed as the two of them struggled over the revolver he was holding. He said he wanted to use it only to frighten her, not kill her.
The prosecutor also read out a statement from the former mayor, who claimed his wife once threatened him with a knife during one of their arguments.
On May 28, Ostad was found dead in her apartment in the Saadat Abad neighborhood in northwestern Tehran. On the same day, Tehran Prosecutor Mohammad Shahriari said that Najafi surrendered to police officers and confessed to killing his wife over family issues.
Najafi has been a prominent Reformist politician since the 1990s. He resigned as mayor last year after serving only eight months and coming under criticism from hardliners for attending a ceremony at which young girls were dancing. He cited health reasons for his resignation.