As twins’ bodies come home, parents stay away

Iranian twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani, joined in life, arrived in their homeland in two coffins on Thursday, achieving their dream of separat...

Iranian twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani, joined in life, arrived in their homeland in two coffins on Thursday, achieving their dream of separation only in death.

Except for a dozen close friends, neither their natural nor adoptive parents were at the airport to meet the coffins. ‘‘They were tired of being joined together,’’ said Nooshin Mehran, who described herself as the twins’ best friend. ‘‘Now they are dead their biggest wish has come true. I don’t regret not trying to change their minds.’’

A Muslim cleric said prayers over the coffins. A police band played a funeral march as the bodies were taken by ambulance to the Coroner’s office for a death certificate before being flown to southern Iran for burial. The funeral is to take place on Friday in the village where the sisters were born near the city of Shiraz.

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‘‘We didn’t want to welcome them home this way,’’ said Maryam Nofarsti with her twin sister Leyla, childhood friends of Laleh and Ladan.

President Mohammad Khatami sent a message of condolence. ‘‘Surrendering to divine fate is a sign of strong faith, profound knowledge and stable will. What happened to Laleh and Ladan is one page in the great book of destiny,’’ he said.

Iran plans a national ceremony in honour of the twins next week and has expressed sadness over the deaths but no anger, despite some medical experts saying the surgery was too risky, and criticising the haste and motives behind it.

The twins’ determination to undergo the surgery touched people around the world. Messages of condolence were read out at a memorial service in Singapore from as far away as Zambia and Greece. (Reuters)