A judiciary spokesman said the leniency of the sentence was due to Mona's parents having "pardoned" him for the murder rather than seeking retribution.Local media reported that she had fled to Turkey after allegedly being subjected to domestic violence by her husband, who had refused her requests for a divorce.Judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi told reporters on Wednesday that Sajjad Heydari had been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for murder and an additional eight months for assault.He explained that the verdict was in line with Iranian law, under which intentional murder is punishable by death unless the family of the victim forgives the killer.Iran is currently being rocked by anti-government protests that were sparked by the death in custody of a young woman who was detained by morality police in September for allegedly wearing her hijab, or headscarf, "improperly"."