Aziz sentenced for honor killing of his wife – cannot be deported

Aziz Rahmani, 63, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife, Fahima Rahmani, in Västerås in November last year. The Västmanland District Court has determined that the murder had an honor-related background and that Rahmani could not accept his wife wanting to leave him and finalize a divorce. He is also convicted of aggravated assault against the couple’s adult son, who tried to intervene during the attack.

It was just before ten o’clock in the evening on November 3, 2025, that police and ambulance crews were alerted to the Södra Gryta townhouse area in Västerås. At the scene, they found a woman and a man with severe knife injuries.

The woman, mother of six Fahima Rahmani, had been stabbed in the chest and abdomen, among other places. Despite medical efforts, her life could not be saved. The injured man was her adult son, who had tried to protect his mother during the assault. The perpetrator was the woman’s husband of several decades, Aziz Rahmani. He was apprehended shortly after the incident.

The murder followed a long history of violence, control, and intervention by authorities. The family, who came to Sweden from Kermanshah province in western Iran in 2006, had over many years been the subject of investigations by social services.

In documents from previous LVU (Care of Young Persons Act) investigations, the family was described as living in an honor-based context. Several of the couple’s children were taken into compulsory care over the years, with authorities concluding that the children lived in an environment characterized by violence, threats, and honor-related norms.

Had applied for divorce

Fahima Rahmani had for a long time informed authorities about her husband’s control over her life. She stated, among other things, that she was not allowed to work, study, or socialize freely with family and friends.

In April 2025, Aziz Rahmani was sentenced to prison for having assaulted his wife. According to the verdict, he had, among other things, hit her with a shoehorn, kicked her, and tried to strangle her. After being released, a restraining order was imposed against him in relation to his wife.

Despite this, the harassment continued. In September of the same year, Fahima Rahmani once again applied for a divorce, firmly determined to leave the relationship. According to the investigation, Rahmani had shortly beforehand threatened her with violence and death.

The previous interventions of the Swedish authorities failed to halt the developments. On November 3, he sought out his wife outside her home and attacked her with a knife. The son was injured as he tried to intervene.

District court: The murder was honor-motivated

On Thursday, the Västmanland District Court announced its verdict. Aziz Rahmani is convicted of murdering his wife and of aggravated assault against the couple’s son. However, he is acquitted of charges relating to, among others, grossly unlawful threats, unlawful threats, harassment, and certain breaches of the restraining order.

The court assessed that Rahmani had the intent to kill his wife, and that the act was in part motivated by honor. According to the court, the fundamental issue was that he could not accept her desire to leave him and carry out the divorce. The court found that Rahmani had been strongly controlling in the relationship over a long period, and that the murder aimed to preserve his own honor.

Regarding the son, the district court did not find that the prosecution had proven that Rahmani had the intent to kill him. Therefore, he was convicted of aggravated assault instead of attempted murder.

Life sentence – but cannot be deported

The penalty is set to life imprisonment. Rahmani, who has consistently denied the crime, previously claimed that he acted in self-defense against his son and that his wife was stabbed as he tried to defend himself. The district court did not find that account credible. In addition to the life sentence, he must pay damages to the couple’s six surviving children.

Rahmani was granted Swedish citizenship in 2023 despite earlier convictions for assault. Because he is a Swedish citizen, he cannot be deported from Sweden.