Fears for two women facing execution for adultery and 'enmity against God'
Kawah | 01.07.2010 19:27 | Gender | Repression | Social Struggles | World
let stop Islamic regim's atrocity against Woman in Iran
Amnesty International has made a new call on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt all executions and commute all death sentences as concern grows about two women and other prisoners who may be at imminent risk of execution.
Amnesty International has made a new call on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt all executions and commute all death sentences as concern grows about two women and other prisoners who may be at imminent risk of execution.
Stop execution
Barbaric islamic law
Iran: Fears for two women facing execution for adultery and 'enmity against God'
Posted: 01 July 2010
Amnesty International has made a new call on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt all executions and commute all death sentences as concern grows about two women and other prisoners who may be at imminent risk of execution.
The organisation is also urging the authorities to review and repeal death penalty laws, to disclose full details of all death sentences and executions, and to join the growing international trend towards abolition.
Two women are feared to be at imminent risk of execution. Zeynab Jalalian, a political activist and member of the Kurdish minority, was sentenced to death in early 2009 after being convicted of “enmity against God”, while Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who has two children, could be executed by stoning at any time for “adultery while being married".
Currently held in Evin Prison, Tehran, Zeynab Jalalian, an Iranian Kurd, was arrested in 2007. Unconfirmed reports are circulating widely that her execution may take place any day. She was convicted in or around January 2009 of “enmity against God” in connection with her alleged membership of a Kurdish armed opposition group. She has said she was tortured. She is reported to have been denied access to her lawyer during her trial, which reportedly lasted only a few minutes and during which no evidence was produced against her. Zeynab Jalalian’s death sentence was upheld on appeal and confirmed by Iran’s Supreme Court on 26 November 2009. Her family has received no news of her for a month and has been told by the authorities that her case file has been “lost”.
On 13 June, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, published an article entitled Sakineh on the threshold of stoning and pointed out that there is now no legal obstacle to her execution being carried out at any time. In May 2006 she was convicted of having had an “illicit relationship” with two men and received 99 lashes as her sentence. Despite this, she was subsequently convicted of “adultery while being married", which she has denied, and was sentenced to death by stoning.
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has retracted a “confession” made during interrogation, stating that it was made under duress. However, she was convicted by a majority of three out of five trial judges on the basis of the “knowledge of the judge”, a provision in Iranian law that allows judges to make their own subjective and possibly arbitrary determination regarding guilt even in the absence of clear or conclusive evidence.
Her death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on 27 May 2007. Her case has been sent to Iran’s Amnesty and Clemency Commission twice, but her request for clemency was rejected on both occasions..
Background
Prisoners on death row are often not informed when they are due to be executed until the last minute, adding to their suffering and that of their families. Sometimes their lawyers are not informed 48 hours in advance, as is required by Iranian law.
Others prisoners under sentence of death include two members of the predominantly Sunni Muslim Baluch minority in Sistan-Baluchistan province. On 31 May 2010, the Zahedan Prosecutor said they had been sentenced to death for their alleged involvement in clashes between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims which led to the deaths of six individuals. He also said that the death penalty has been sought in the trials of six other individuals. The clashes followed a bomb attack on a Shi’a mosque in May 2009, which killed at least 25 individuals, which was claimed by the People’s Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI), an armed Baluch group opposed to the Iranian government.
The PRMI’s leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, was hanged by the Iranian authorities on 20 June 2010, in Zahedan. His brother, Abdolhamid Rigi, was hanged in Zahedan in May 2010.
In Kordestan province, home to many members of the Kurdish minority, a government official said on 27 June 2010 that at least 20 prisoners were being held on death row there who had been convicted of drug smuggling. At least 15 other members of the Kurdish minority, all political prisoners, are also on death row in the province and are at risk of execution. Two are said to be facing execution by firing squad. Most executions in Iran are carried out by hanging.
Many prisoners on death row did not receive fair trials, having been sentenced on the basis of vaguely-worded charges and “confessions” which they allege were made under torture or other duress while they were detained incommunicado before trial. Some were denied access to a lawyer.
Despite these grave shortcomings, the Iranian authorities continue to carry out more executions than most other states. This year, Amnesty International recorded no less than 126 executions in the period from 1 January to 6 June. Those hanged included five political prisoners who were executed on 9 May; the authorities may have intended the executions as a warning to potential protestors in advance of the anniversary on 12 June of the hotly disputed presidential election of 2009, which sparked mass protests and a wave of state repression.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate form of cruel and inhuman punishment. In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions. Iran was one of the minority of states that voted against the resolution.
Posted: 01 July 2010
Amnesty International has made a new call on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt all executions and commute all death sentences as concern grows about two women and other prisoners who may be at imminent risk of execution.
The organisation is also urging the authorities to review and repeal death penalty laws, to disclose full details of all death sentences and executions, and to join the growing international trend towards abolition.
Two women are feared to be at imminent risk of execution. Zeynab Jalalian, a political activist and member of the Kurdish minority, was sentenced to death in early 2009 after being convicted of “enmity against God”, while Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who has two children, could be executed by stoning at any time for “adultery while being married".
Currently held in Evin Prison, Tehran, Zeynab Jalalian, an Iranian Kurd, was arrested in 2007. Unconfirmed reports are circulating widely that her execution may take place any day. She was convicted in or around January 2009 of “enmity against God” in connection with her alleged membership of a Kurdish armed opposition group. She has said she was tortured. She is reported to have been denied access to her lawyer during her trial, which reportedly lasted only a few minutes and during which no evidence was produced against her. Zeynab Jalalian’s death sentence was upheld on appeal and confirmed by Iran’s Supreme Court on 26 November 2009. Her family has received no news of her for a month and has been told by the authorities that her case file has been “lost”.
On 13 June, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, published an article entitled Sakineh on the threshold of stoning and pointed out that there is now no legal obstacle to her execution being carried out at any time. In May 2006 she was convicted of having had an “illicit relationship” with two men and received 99 lashes as her sentence. Despite this, she was subsequently convicted of “adultery while being married", which she has denied, and was sentenced to death by stoning.
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has retracted a “confession” made during interrogation, stating that it was made under duress. However, she was convicted by a majority of three out of five trial judges on the basis of the “knowledge of the judge”, a provision in Iranian law that allows judges to make their own subjective and possibly arbitrary determination regarding guilt even in the absence of clear or conclusive evidence.
Her death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on 27 May 2007. Her case has been sent to Iran’s Amnesty and Clemency Commission twice, but her request for clemency was rejected on both occasions..
Background
Prisoners on death row are often not informed when they are due to be executed until the last minute, adding to their suffering and that of their families. Sometimes their lawyers are not informed 48 hours in advance, as is required by Iranian law.
Others prisoners under sentence of death include two members of the predominantly Sunni Muslim Baluch minority in Sistan-Baluchistan province. On 31 May 2010, the Zahedan Prosecutor said they had been sentenced to death for their alleged involvement in clashes between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims which led to the deaths of six individuals. He also said that the death penalty has been sought in the trials of six other individuals. The clashes followed a bomb attack on a Shi’a mosque in May 2009, which killed at least 25 individuals, which was claimed by the People’s Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI), an armed Baluch group opposed to the Iranian government.
The PRMI’s leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, was hanged by the Iranian authorities on 20 June 2010, in Zahedan. His brother, Abdolhamid Rigi, was hanged in Zahedan in May 2010.
In Kordestan province, home to many members of the Kurdish minority, a government official said on 27 June 2010 that at least 20 prisoners were being held on death row there who had been convicted of drug smuggling. At least 15 other members of the Kurdish minority, all political prisoners, are also on death row in the province and are at risk of execution. Two are said to be facing execution by firing squad. Most executions in Iran are carried out by hanging.
Many prisoners on death row did not receive fair trials, having been sentenced on the basis of vaguely-worded charges and “confessions” which they allege were made under torture or other duress while they were detained incommunicado before trial. Some were denied access to a lawyer.
Despite these grave shortcomings, the Iranian authorities continue to carry out more executions than most other states. This year, Amnesty International recorded no less than 126 executions in the period from 1 January to 6 June. Those hanged included five political prisoners who were executed on 9 May; the authorities may have intended the executions as a warning to potential protestors in advance of the anniversary on 12 June of the hotly disputed presidential election of 2009, which sparked mass protests and a wave of state repression.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate form of cruel and inhuman punishment. In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions. Iran was one of the minority of states that voted against the resolution.
Kawah
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Other postings earlier on Zeynab Jalalian
01.07.2010 20:41
TWO KURDS AT IMMINENT RISK OF EXECUTION
Hossein Khezri, a 28-year-old man, and Zeynab Jalalian, a 27-year-old woman, both members of Iran’s Kurdish minority, are feared to be at imminent risk of execution. Both were convicted of “enmity against God”, in separate cases, for membership of the Party for Free Life of Kurdistan.
Hossein Khezri was arrested in Kermanshah in 2008, held in detention facilities under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence and Revolutionary Guards, and was later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in Oromieh, north-west Iran, for "enmity against God" (“moharebeh”). His sentence was upheld in or around August 2009. He said he was tortured and asked for an investigation, but his request was denied in March 2010. On 11 April 2010, he was moved from Oromieh Central Prison to an unknown location, raising fears that his execution may be imminent.
Zeynab Jalalian, from Maku, a town in the north-west of Iran, was sentenced to death for “enmity against God” around January 2009 by Kermanshah Revolutionary Court. Before that, she had spent eight months in a Ministry of Intelligence detention facility, during which time her family had no information concerning her fate. She is reported not to have been granted access to a lawyer during her trial, which she said lasted only a few minutes. Zeynab Jalalian’s death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on 26 November 2009.
In early March 2010, Zeynab Jalalian was moved from Kermanshah Prison to an unknown location, possibly a detention facility of the Ministry of Intelligence. After several weeks, in late March 2010, she was transferred to Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran. The precise reasons for her transfer are unknown, but the website Reporters and Human Rights Activists in Iran has reported that she said she is awaiting execution.
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
•Urging the Iranian authorities not to execute Hossein Khezri and Zeynab Jalalian;;
•Calling on them to commute their death sentences and to retry them in fair proceedings in line with international law and to disregard any evidence obtained under torture or other ill-treatment:
•Stating that Amnesty International recognizes the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice, in conformity with international standards for fair trial, those suspected of criminal offences, but opposes the death penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:
via website:
Salutation: Your Excellency
Why we shouldn't support Islamists
Support Zeinab Jalalian and all who suffer at the hands of Islamists
01.07.2010 20:48
Sunday, 13 September 2009 22:06 |
News - Women
Stop Fundamentalism – A Woman by the name of Zeinab Jalalian has been reportedly condemned to execution in the Iranian Kurdish city of Kermanshah.
According to Kurdistan Human Rights Watch News Agency, Zeinab has been in solitary prison for two years for her political activities and connections with Kurdish parties. The news agency also notes that she is currently ill.
Zeinab’s execution would be the first woman’s political execution in recent years in western province of Kurdistan.
A rise in the number of political exactions in Iran is feared to be in the horizon in the aftermath of the recent election protests in Tehran and other cities of Iran.
There has been many arrests of supporters of Ahmadinejad’s presidential contenders in recent days. Many rumors foresee that Mousavi and Karubi may be in government’s list for arrests.
No to Islamic Sharia and Islamism
Please sign petition and email to the following people
01.07.2010 21:07
ALSO:
UN Letter for Zainab Jalalian زینب جلالیان
Please write to Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for the Office of Human Rights and Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations regarding Zainab Jalalian's case and asking for her sentence to be overturned and a new, impartial trial to be held, with access to legal counsel and protection from coerced confessions. A sample letter you can use, or modify, follows.
Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for the Office of Human Rights
Fax: +41-22-917-9008 (Geneva) +1-212-963-4097 (NY)
His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations
Fax: 212-963-7055 (You can send a fax for free online here), Tel: 1-212-963-7160, 61, 62
Dear Ms. Pillay/Mr. Ban Ki-Moon:
I am writing to you regarding the case of Zainab Jalalian, a Iranian political prisoner sentenced to death on 26 Nov 2009 on charges of Mohareb and at risk of imminent execution.
On June 26, Kurdish human rights organizations reported that Zainab's death sentence had been finalized and forwarded to the enforcement section. Her lawyer is reporting that she has been moved to another ward in preparation for execution and that, barring intervention by the UN, it is likely her sentence will soon be carried out.
Zainab was denied access to legal counsel at her trial; her plea to say goodbye to her family was met with, "shut up" by the sentencing judge, and she was condemned to death by hanging. This is in direct violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a signatory, which guarantees defendants access to legal counsel and a "fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal" (Articles 14 and 10). On March 5, several online news organizations reported that Zainab Jalalian had been transferred from Kermanshah Prison to the Ministry of Intelligence detention center, an event that in the past has signified an imminent execution. As Ms. Jalalian was not given a fair hearing with access to legal counsel, such an execution would be a deplorable action and illegal under international law.
Given the above, I ask that you use any means in your power to obtain the following for Zeinab Jalalian:
- if an imminent execution is planned, that it be immediately halted;
- for her death sentence to be overturned on the grounds that she was not granted a fair trial with legal representation;
- that she be granted a new trial if charges against her remain, with access to legal counsel, a public hearing by an impartial tribunal and protection from torture or coerced confessions as laid out in the ICCPR and UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights).
Zainab Jalalian's case has been forwarded to the implementation stage and we are concerned about the imminent risk to her life. We ask that you force the Islamic Republic of Iran to comply with international law and norms, abide by treaties that the UN places its name on, and act to save her life.
Yours sincerely,
We also urge you to send the above letter to world leaders and influential figures.
Activist @shariatmadari has provided contact information for Brazilian President Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, based on Brazil's close relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and for Patricia Llombart Cussac of the European Commission.
Ms. Patricia Llombart Cussac, European Commission, Head of Gulf Countries Unit – Iran, Iraq, Yemen.
Fax: +(32) 2 2966612 and +(32) 2 2951859
Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, Presidência da República
Fax: (61) 3224-0289 / 3411-2222
Email:
Ambassador Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim, Ministério das Relações Exteriores (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
Fax: (61) 3411-6993
Email:
Dear [Name]
I am writing to you regarding the case of Zainab Jalalian, a Iranian political prisoner sentenced to death on 26 Nov 2009 on charges of Mohareb and at risk of imminent execution.
On June 26, Kurdish human rights organizations reported that Zainab's death sentence had been finalized and forwarded to the enforcement section. Her lawyer is reporting that she has been moved to another ward in preparation for execution and that, barring intervention by the international community, it is likely her sentence will soon be carried out.
Zainab was denied access to legal counsel at her trial; her plea to say goodbye to her family was met with, "shut up" by the sentencing judge, and she was condemned to death by hanging. This is in direct violation of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a signatory, which guarantees defendants access to legal counsel and a "fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal" (Articles 14 and 10). On March 5, several online news organizations reported that Zainab Jalalian had been transferred from Kermanshah Prison to the Ministry of Intelligence detention center, an event that in the past has signified an imminent execution. As Ms. Jalalian was not given a fair hearing with access to legal counsel, such an execution would be a deplorable action and illegal under international law.
Given the above, I ask that you use any means in your power to obtain the following for Zeinab Jalalian:
- if an imminent execution is planned, that it be immediately halted;
- for her death sentence to be overturned on the grounds that she was not granted a fair trial with legal representation;
- that she be granted a new trial if charges against her remain, with access to legal counsel, a public hearing by an impartial tribunal and protection from torture or coerced confessions as laid out in the ICCPR and UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights).
Zainab Jalalian's case has been forwarded to the implementation stage and we are concerned about the imminent risk to her life. We ask that you force the Islamic Republic of Iran to comply with international laws and norms, abide by treaties that the international community places its name on, and act to save her life.
Yours sincerely,
You may also wish to communicate with President Lula and the Brazilian Foreign Ministry in Portuguese.
Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, Presidência da República
Fax:(61) 3224-0289 / 3411-2222
Email:
Embaixador Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim, Ministério das Relações Exteriores (Ministro dos NegóciosEstrangeiros)
Fax:(61)3411-6993
Email:
Ex.mo Sr. Presidente:
Estou escrevendo a V. Exª sobre o caso de Jalalian Zainab, um prisioneiro político iraniano condenado à morte em 26 de Novembro de 2009 sob a acusação de Mohareb (“Inimizade Contra Deus”) e em risco de execução iminente. Em 26 de Junho, a organização de Direitos Humanos, informou que a sentença de morte de Zainab tinha sido oficializada e que esta fora enviada para a secção de execuções. O seu advogado está reportando que ela foi transferida para outra ala, em preparação para a execução e que, salvo a intervenção da ONU, é provável que a sua sentença seja consumada dentro em breve.
A Zainab foi-lhe negado o acesso a um advogado aquando do seu julgamento. O seu pedido para se despedir da sua família foi contestado com "shut up"/ “cale-se” pelo juiz de condenação, e ela foi condenada à morte por enforcamento. Esta é uma violação objectiva do Pacto Internacional sobre Direitos Civis e Políticos (PIDCP), de que o Irão é signatário. O qual garante aos arguidos acesso a aconselhamento legal e “a uma audição justa e pública por um tribunal: competente, independente e imparcial "(artigos 14 e 10). Em 5 de Março, várias organizações noticiosas on-line comunicaram que Zainab Jalalian tinha sido transferida da prisão de Kermanshah para o centro de detenção do Ministério da Inteligência, um facto que no passado significou: execução iminente. Como à Sra. Jalalian não lhe foi dado um julgamento justo, com acesso a assistência jurídica, esta execução será um acto deplorável e ilegal face à Lei Internacional.
Face ao exposto, solicito que V.Exª use todos os meios ao seu alcance para obter o seguinte para Zeinab Jalalian:
- Se está sendo planeada uma execução iminente, que esta seja imediatamente suspensa;
- Que a sua sentença de morte seja anulada, alegando que não lhe foi concedido um julgamento justo e com representação legal;
- Se as acusações contra ela permanecerem, que lhe seja concedido um novo julgamento: com acesso a um advogado, a uma audiência pública por um tribunal imparcial, e, protecção contra a tortura ou confissões forçadas, conforme estabelecido no PIDCP e DUDH (Declaração Universal dos Direitos do Homem).
O caso de Zainab Jalalian foi encaminhado para a fase de implementação e estamos preocupados com o risco iminente da sua vida. Nós solicitamos que V. EXª exorte a República Islâmica do Irão a respeitar a legislação e normas internacionais, e obedeça aos tratados em que a ONU coloca seu nome, e actue para salvar sua vida.
Atenciosamente,
Your Name
With much thanks to @Dputamadre for the Portuguese translation.
You can now send a letter on behalf of Zainab Jalalian to Iranian Embassies, the UN, and Iranian officials with one click on United For Iran's website.
No to Islamic Sharia and Islamism
Go to link to send stuff to embassies at click of a button
01.07.2010 22:30
Save Zainab Jalalian please...
This article is racist
01.07.2010 23:25
Moxxy
Again...
01.07.2010 23:55
Again, the voice of unreason from the jaded wilderness (as uncritical as 'the sun')....
Yes, the United States has interests in the Middle East and will be exploitative where it can, but this is an example of real human misery. Not lies, fact. Truth.
If you are not willing to accept that then you are as bad as them - worse than that a dupe...
'Racist' - Just how is fighting oppression 'Wacist'?
Appalling. Truly, truly appalling.
t
Peaceful?
02.07.2010 03:17
Pinkolady
NO GODS NO MASTERS
02.07.2010 07:17
your enemies enemies is not automatically your friend
oppressors fight one another that is history - both sides are still wrong
and oppression is oppression regardless of the perpetrators nationality UK USA Israel Iran Chile Burma France Russia even Palestine
if you defend these killing or tell me to keep quiet then you are my enemy as much as the western imperialists
NO GODS NO MASTERS
It is really clear that this is trolling
02.07.2010 07:45
As for the death penalty, it is despicable and cruel in my humble opinion which is why I am certain I have read somewhere on Indymedia appeals for those on US death row. Certainly there are appeals for support for black pantha activist Mumia Abu Jamal I suppose they were "racist" as well you fucking idiot Moxxy go back to your EDL, Islamofacist or police cell and shut the fuck up. Even better if Iran is so great, go and enjoy life there.
Lynn Sawyer
Moxxy = troll
02.07.2010 09:44
anon
oh dear
04.07.2010 10:32
*sigh*. Next you will be saying lets go over there and "bring them democracy"
perhaps they are quite happy with how they run their society thank you very much
rhinebacker
@ rhinebacker
05.07.2010 09:19
Lynn Sawyer
surprised by pro-islamic law comment
06.07.2010 22:00
progressive people in the world must oppose to Barbaric islamic law,
which is against basic human rights.
Not only women, Trade union activists and any left group members are arrested on the weekly basis, every month there is a fear that few of Political prisoners could be hanged under islamic law [ which treats the trade unionist and left groups as a enemy of God ].
Those of you whome believe the philosophy of [ enemy of my enemy is my friend] , are just bunch of middle class people whom do not have any link with class struggle in the region or in the world. or maybe some of the islamic regime's element uses this site to provoke anti-American people and hopping that this kind of propaganda would cover up the atrocity of islamic law which oppresses millions of woman and progressive people in Iran!!
what a shame for people whom call themselves progressive , let alone anarchist .
Anti-Capitalist
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