Tehran, Iran:

An Iranian court has sentenced a man to death for killing prominent film producer Dariush Mehrjui and his wife at their home near Tehran months ago, the judiciary said on Monday.

Mehrjui, an 83-year-old director associated with Iran’s New Wave of Cinema, and his wife Vahideh Mohammadifar were stabbed to death in October at their home in Karaj, west of the Iranian capital.

The chief judge of Alborz province, Hussein Fazeli-Harikandi, previously said that the killer, who was arrested a few days after the attack, was a former employee of Mehrjui who “had a grudge against the deceased due to financial problems.”

Three other people were charged with planning and assisting in the murder, he added.

The court sentenced the killer to death under the Islamic law of retribution, known as “qisas”, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said on Monday.

Mizan cited Fazeli-Harikandi, who was found guilty of “the premeditated murder of Merjoui and Mohamed Difar.”

He added that the retribution law was applied at the request of Mehrjui’s family.

According to Fazeli-Harikandi, the other defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 8 to 36 years.

However, Mizan added that these judgments are not final and can be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Following Merjoi’s death, tributes poured in to the work of the pioneering director, producer and screenwriter, who faced censorship both before and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution during his 60-year career.

The director is best known for the 1969 metaphorical drama “The Cow” and the 1990 black comedy “Hamoun,” which followed the 24-hour life of an intellectual suffering from divorce and psychological anxiety.

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