Supreme Court Accepts 'Objections' in the Murder Case of Mehrjouei and Mohammadi Far

The lawyer for the family of Dariush Mehrjouei announced that the Supreme Court of the country accepted the objections in the murder case of this director and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadi Far, and referred the case back to the prosecutor's office in Fardis for further investigation and addressing the objections. Manouchehr Manouchehri, the lawyer, told the Etemad newspaper that among the objections raised, he mentioned the 'possibility of another person or knife being involved.' Dariush Mehrjouei and Vahideh Mohammadi Far were murdered in October 2023 at their private villa in Zibadasht, Karaj. The Criminal Court of Alborz Province sentenced the primary defendant in this case to qisas (retribution) and three other defendants to long prison terms. However, the lawyer for the Mehrjouei family stated to Etemad that 'the court acted very hastily in issuing its verdict.' Other objections raised include the failure to review surveillance cameras, the absence of Mehrjouei's blood on the murder weapon, the concealment of the murder weapon under the soil, and the hasty issuance of a verdict by the court without regard to the objections. Etemad reported that a week after the murder, police and judicial authorities identified four suspects as the perpetrators of this crime, but to this day, despite naming these individuals as suspects, 'no one knows exactly whose hand the knife was in that night.' Additionally, one of the objections noted that what caught the attention of Mona Mehrjouei, the daughter of Dariush Mehrjouei, 'from the moment she entered the murder scene of her parents was the formal clothing her father was wearing, which he only wore on occasions when he had to, let alone at home in the evening.' The defendants in the murder of Dariush Mehrjouei and Vahideh Mohammadi Far were sentenced to 'qisas and prison.' The murder of Mehrjouei and his wife sparked significant reactions, with some comparing it to the serial killings of writers in the 1990s. Dariush Mehrjouei is regarded as one of the most important directors in the history of Iranian cinema and a pioneer of the so-called 'New Wave' movement, leaving behind lasting works over several decades. 'Gav', 'Mr. Halo', 'The Postman', 'The Circle of Mina', 'The Tenants', 'Hamoon', 'Sara', 'Lady', 'Leila', and 'The Pear Tree' are some of his significant cinematic works. Mr. Mehrjouei also authored and translated several novels and books. Vahideh Mohammadi Far, the wife of Dariush Mehrjouei, played a crucial role in shaping the director's works over the past two decades. She was the writer of the screenplays for Mr. Mehrjouei's works in recent years, such as 'Bamani', 'Santouri', 'The Lost Cousin', 'Guest Mom', 'The Orange-Clad', and several other works. Mrs. Mohammadi Far also designed costumes for the films 'Ghosts' and 'How Good That You Came Back.'