Witness Statement of Joker

 Name:                                      Joker*

Interviewing Organization:   Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC)

Date of Interview:                        April 10, 2024

Interviewer:                                      IHRDC Staff

This statement was prepared pursuant to an audio interview with Mr. Joker. There are 9 paragraphs in the statement.

The views and opinions of the witness expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.

*Pseudonym assigned to protect the witness’s identity.

Statement

1. I live in Isfahan and I am about 38 years old. My wife has passed away. Now her mother has started pursuing the mehrieh The mehrieh was set at approximately 400 gold coins, and we had been married for about 10 years. One week after my wife passed away, I received a message telling me to attend the Registry Office and the court. My wife had been ill; her kidneys were affected, and later they said she was suspected of having COVID. She was undergoing dialysis.
2. First, they went to the Isfahan Registry Office. I was asked to declare my assets to the Registry Office, but I didn’t do it. That case was closed there, and they then went to the Judiciary and filed a claim. I had also transferred a car into my wife’s name; they came and took the car, and there was nothing I could do about it. As a result, I am now without a vehicle. After that, they obtained an arrest warrant and I was sent to prison. Setad-e Diyeh [Prisoners’ Relief Foundation] contributed one gold coin on my behalf, and I was released. That was it. They sought enforcement of the entire 400 gold coins. The marriage contract also includes a few mithqals of gold [approx. 4.6 g each]. They sought enforcement of all of it. I also asked a lawyer about it. He said, “Since you do not have any children, what does her mother want the mehrieh for?” I don’t really know.
3. In court, I applied for a declaration of inability to pay; one gold coin as an upfront instalment and 3 million Tomans a month. We had also included 50 million Tomans in cash in the marriage contract. So, apart from the gold coins and the mithqals of gold, I also had to pay that 50 million Tomans. They ordered that I pay the 50 million at a rate of 3 million Tomans per month until it is paid off, although I do not know whether that 50 million is adjusted for inflation or not. So I paid one gold coin upfront, and after that I have been paying 3 million Tomans a month. The monthly payments go towards the cash amount first. Once that is paid off, they will go after the gold coins and the gold. The order says that after that I must pay one mithqal of gold every four months and then one gold coin every year.
4. To prove that I was unable to pay, I declared my inability to pay and brought two witnesses to court. I explained that I was unemployed at the time and that they had taken my car. I also submitted a written statement explaining that the car was my means of earning a living. It was just an ordinary passenger car and was not worth much, around 70 to 80 million Tomans. The court accepted my declaration of inability to pay, but a year later, after I had been imprisoned and released, they rejected my application for an adjustment.
5. When the court accepted that I was unable to pay, it ordered me to pay one gold coin upfront and 3 million Tomans a month. Later, I failed to pay the one coin and was sent to prison. Setad-e Diyeh [Prisoners’ Relief Foundation] paid the coin for me, and I was released. I have now been out of prison for about two or three months. During that time, I applied for an adjustment once, but it was rejected. I spent about a month in prison. I did not have a lawyer because I could not afford one.
6. This is unfair. The fact that they are demanding the mehrieh just because she has died is unfair in itself. My mother-in-law said, “I want the mehrieh.” That’s it. “I want it, and I will get it.” I do not know why she is doing this. Now I am wondering where to find the money to pay the rest of it.
7. We got married in 2012 and held our wedding ceremony in either 2013 or 2014. We were together for about nine or ten years, and she passed away towards the end of 2021.
8. They say you can apply for an adjustment once a year. I own an apartment under the Mehr Housing Scheme, and it is registered in my name. Her mother says, “Give me the apartment and I will drop the claim.” I told her, “Where am I supposed to live?” She has her eye on that apartment. In fact, they are willing to forgive the entire mehrieh and everything else if I give them the apartment. The apartment is not worth much. It is located in lower-income neighbourhoods of Isfahan.
9. Whatever we said to the judge, it was as if he took no notice. He was always siding with them and paid no attention to what we were saying. He really was on their side. He was not a friend of my wife’s family or anything like that, but, for example, I told him that I was unemployed and that they had taken my car. I said, “Give me back the car so I can drive to work.” The distance between my home and my workplace was about 20 to 30 kilometres, actually more like 30 to 35 kilometres. I said, “Give me back the car and I’ll pay the mehrieh.” It was as if I had not said a word. No matter how you look at it, he always sided with them.