Delara Darabi Needs Our Support

Delara Darabi's Execution File Returns to Rasht

The office of Iran's head of judiciary in Tehran is reported to have sent the execution file of Delara Darabi, an Iranian female artist who was sentenced to death at the age of 17, back to the court in Rasht. Several montha gao, Delara's case was sent from Rasht, where she has remained in prison, to the office of Iran's chief judge in Tehran so that he could provide the final approval needed to carry out the young girl's execution by hanging.

While confirming this development, Delara's defense counsel, Mr. Abdolsammad Khoramshahi, stated that the reason that the case was sent back to Rasht was due to procedural matters, not substantive issues related to the case itself.

"Most likely, these issues will be resolved soon, and the file will once again be returned to head of judiciary's office," Khoramshahi explained. The fact that Delara's execution file was sent back to Rasht for further review does not mean that Delara's death sentence has not received final approval from Iran's chief judge because a final ruling on whether or not Delara's execution should go on as planned has not yet been issued.

Link: http://www.savedelara.com/Delara+Darabi+Case242.html

پرونده اعدام دلارا در دادگستري رشت

شنيده شده پرونده دلارا درابي دختر نقاش متهم به قتل كه براي اذن اعدام به دفتر هاشمي شاهرودي رفته بود به دليل پاره اي اشكالات به دادگستري رشت بازگردانده شد .

وكيل مدافع دلارا ضمن تاييد اين مطلب گفت: اين ايرادات شكلي نبوده و فقط به خاطر نواقصي كه در خود راي وجود داشته است پرونده به دادگستر ي رشت بازگردانده شده است .

مي گفت : احتمالا اين ايرادات به زودي برطرف شده و دوباره پرونده نزد رييس قوه قضاييه ياز گردانده مي شود چرا كه مشكل در استناد به مواد قانوني بوده است. اين به معناي ان نيست كه حكم دلارا تاييد نشده است چرا كه هنوز در مورد اجراشدن و يا نشدن حكم دستوري صادر نشده است

http://www.maznoonan.com/?p=134 لینک:

با شرکت نکردن در نمایش انتصابات به رژیم ملایان نه بگوییم

Urgent Action To Save Ali

Ali is the teenager who accidentally killed his classmate and friend Mazdak in a mêlée outside the school in Karaj, 30 kilometers to the West of Tehran. He was only 16 when the accident happened. The Courts of the Islamic Republic again are disregarding the International Conventions on protection of children. Qesas again seems to be the only way to save his life. Ali has written to the parents of his friend begging them to pardon him. He has described his sad little life and how he has had to live with the nightmare of loss of his friend. "If the parents of my friend Mazdak don't pardon me, I have to say good bye to all my friends and family at the beginning of my life. If Mazdak's father believes that my best classmate and friend was killed by me in this bitter incident which I still cannot believe, then I am prepared to be hanged and ask Mazdak's father to put the noose around my neck. Although, I say it again as I have said it many times that that day's incident was only an accident. However, Qesas is the right of the victim's parents and I'll accept whatever Mazdak's father decides."

If the parents of the victim want Ali to be hanged will this be justice done? Ali was only 16 at the time. A child was unfortunately killed in an accident. Is it right that another child should be murdered? The use of the death penalty for crimes committed by people younger than 18 is prohibited under the international human rights law. Ali has been in prison for 5 years now he has served his sentence. He has been punished for what happened to his best friend. His death penalty should be commuted and he should be freed.

Human rights apply to all age groups; children have the same general human rights as adults. But children are particularly vulnerable and so they also have particular rights that recognize their special need for protection.

Since 1990, (according to the available record from the Amnesty International website) the Islamic Republic of Iran has executed 25 children under the age of 18. This is almost 50 percent of the total 59 children murdered by the few states that still carry out this horrendous act.

Ali needs our support and actions to save his life.

Please plead to the Head of the Judiciary to commute Ali's death sentence stating:

• Ali has already served five years in prison;

• that you recognize that governments have a right and a duty to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offenses, but stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life and it is wrong and against the international laws to execute children;
• urging the Iranian authorities to bring Iranian legislation into line with their international human rights obligations, so that people sentenced to death for murder have the right to seek pardon or commutation of their sentence from the state.
• That you believe the principle of Qesas takes away the responsibility that the Islamic Republic of Iran's has for the protection of its citizens.
  
• The state should be in charge of what punishment a criminal should take for any given crime. Only the institutions of the state are in a position to maintain certainty and universally applied set of punishments for any given crime. 'Qesas' is not a deterrent as a criminal may believe that he has a chance to either please or threaten the victim's relatives to relieve him of his punishment.

APPEALS TO:
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh / Office of the
Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri,
Tehran 1316814737, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir
(In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah
Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader, Islamic Republic
Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency

President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan
Intersection,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email

Director, Human Rights Headquarters of Iran
His Excellency Mohammad Javad Larijani
Howzeh Riassat-e Ghoveh Ghazaiyeh
(Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St.,
Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhuri,
Tehran 1316814737
Fax: 011 98 21 3390 4986 (please keep
trying)
Email: fsharafi@bia-judiciary.ir
(In the subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad
Larijani), or
int_aff@judiciary.ir
(In the subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad
Larijani)
Iran does not presently have an embassy in the
United States. Instead, please send copies to:
Iranian Interests Section
2209 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
Phone: 202 965 4990
Fax: 1 202 965 1073
Email: requests@daftar.org

We Have Lost Raheleh

We have lost Raheleh. We all feel sad and exhausted.

Rahaleh was convicted of murdering her husband, to which she had confessed. However the Islamic courts of the Islamic Republic did not recognise the concept of 'battered wife syndrome' nor accepted her defense of 'insanity'. I leave it for another time to write about why such a principle as 'Battered wife/woman syndrome' is not recognised in the Islamic Republic and how women's rights are infringed, although it is not difficult to guess why!

Raheleh was forced to marry her husband when she was 15. She was subjected to continuous abuse by her brutal husband who had lately put her on medication to cope with the battering. The drug had psychotic side effects, which resulted in her killing her abusive and brutal husband who had brought into the family-house another woman to satisfy his sexual needs. He told Raheleh that she was no longer useful to him as a woman.

Raheleh was hanged despite all the efforts of all the human rights activists. Her originally planned date of execution, which was on 19 December 2007 was only delayed by a couple of weeks to give her more time to find the blood-money to pay the relatives. This is based on the principle of Qesas.

Qesas is the medieval principle that the sharia law of the Islamic Republic legal system applies to cases where the state convicts the accused and passes the sentence and fixes an amount as the blood-money. The victim or their relatives can then decide either to relieve the convict by accepting the full amount; negotiate the amount; pardon without payment; or refuse the blood-money and request the execution of the capital punishment. Therefore, potentially dangerous criminals could be back in the community if they were able to afford to please or even threat or intimidate the victim's relatives without spending any time in prison to regret their criminal misdeeds. How could this make a community safe if the whole purpose of the laws of the community is to bring security to that community as well as carry out justice? In modern societies, the state is responsible for the safety and security of its citizens from the criminals. The legal system, therefore, locks up those who are proved dangerous to the society. How could Qesas fulfill this burden if the convicted man or woman can buy his sentence? If the legal system of the Islamic Republic considers that the victim in any case deserves to be compensated that is a different matter. The victim should be compensated and the criminal should still be punished.

If the Islamic Republic's courts considered that Raheleh did not pose any danger and therefore, could return to the community provided she compensated the victim, then The Islamic Republic has beyond any doubt murdered Raheleh for being unable to afford the blood-money. The Islamic Regime has simply murdered a poor woman whom it considered as no threat to the society. The Islamic Republic's deafening rhetoric since its inception has been to uphold the rights of the poor! The people who are suffering the most under the Islamic Republic are the poor. Over 40% of the population are said to be under the poverty line - the poverty line in the Islamic Republic means not enough food let alone other necessities.

The principle of Qesas becomes even more absurd when the legal procedure is also flawed and the conviction is unsafe. However the case of Raheleh is not about Qesas, although she could had walked free if she could afford to pay the blood-money. Alas she had spent the last few years in the prison and her very poor family didn't have enough money to pay to the husband's relatives. Raheleh's case is about miscarriage of justice. She had perfectly sound defenses but none of them were recognised or accepted by the Islamic courts of the Islamic regime.

We lost Raheleh but we mustn't forget Delara Darabi and many others who are still on death row waiting to be executed. Delara was seventeen at the time of the alleged crime which she denies.

** VERY URGENT**

URGENT: Raheleh Zamani Transferred to Solitary Confinement in Anticipation of Execution

According to reliable sources, Raheleh Zamani was transferred to solitary confinement today in Tehran's Evin prison, and she is to be executed by hanging at dawn on Wednesday, January 2, 2008. Raheleh, who is in prison for killing her husband, was originally scheduled to be executed on December 19, 2007. However, human rights lawyers and activists in Iran and abroad joined forces, once again, and caused Iran's head of judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, to grant a temporary stay of execution only hours before the execution was to be carried out. The order was designed to provide additional time for Raheleh to obtain the pardon of her in-laws, which is legally required to save her life.

The SaveDelara Campaign and the Legal Rights Institute strongy condemn Raheleh Zamani's death sentence, and urge concerned parties to take IMMEDIATE action to stop Raheleh's execution.

What You Can Do:

Contact human rights groups and activists, world organizations, and government officials to express your objection to Raheleh's upcoming execution.

Click HERE for more information and register your objection on-line via Amnesty International's urgent action center.

Link: http://www.savedelara.com/news.html

UPDATE: 2/01/2008

It is with profound sadness that we report the following: Raheleh Zamani was executed today at dawn, Tehran time. She was hanged in Tehran's notorious Evin prison along with 11 others as snow fell silently all around ... frozen tears of crystalized anguish for the senseless murder of a 27 year old mother of two young children.

Raheleh, a woman suffering from battered wife syndrome, betrayed by her husband and her family, and, ultimately, by a legal system that should have attended to her medical needs instead of resorting to a brutal execution, is now at rest.

Raheleh, who came from a simple and uneducated family from a small village in Iran, was married off when she was only 15 years old. She endured years of abuse at the hands of her husband, and at the end, her in-laws watched the grim proceedings as she was hanged along with eleven others.

There are no words to adequately describe the grief we all feel.

Our sincere and heartfelt thanks goes to each person who reached out to help Raheleh with letters and petitions.

May this be a reminder that these cases are indeed in need of our intervention. Hopefully, we can gather more support for those whose cases are still classified as urgent to avert a repetition of this horrific and tragic ending to a precious life.

May she now rest in eternal peace.