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August 7, 2006
Iran - Islamic Justice: Woman To Be Killed, Man Jailed, For Same Crime
News from Amnesty International describes how the woman pictured left, Delara Darabi, has been sentenced to death for a second time, with this judgement upheld by the Iranian Supreme Court.
She has been found guilty of committing a murder when she was 17 years old. However, there are elements in the Iranian prosecutor's case that do not ring true. She was first charged last year and found guilty in a lower court in Rasht, in northern Iran. The Supreme Court initially upheld the sentence of the Rasht court. However, in January this year, the Supreme Court rejected the death sentence and ordered a retrial.
Following two trial sessions from January and on 15 June, Delara Darabi was once again sentenced to death, and she is now at imminent risk of execution, even though the offense was committed when she was only 17, and still a minor.
As a signatory to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Iran has stated that it will not execute people for offenses committed when under the age of 18. However, since 1990, Iran has executed 18 people for crimes committed as minors.
The guilt of Delara Darabi is questionable. She did take part in a burglary, with a man, 19-year old Amir Hossein, though she says she was under the influence of sedatives at the time. The two had entered a woman's house, with the intention of burglary, but the woman was killed. Amir Hossein had apparently been the person to kill the woman.
Unwisely, Delara Darabi at first confessed to the crime. She retracted the statement later, claiming that Amir Hossein had asked her to take responsibility for the killing, as he was over 18 and would have faced the death penalty. Delara assumed that, being under 18, she would not be executed if found guilty, so she confessed to the killing.
The fact that the Supreme Court ordered a retrial suggests that even the authorities who examined the case considered that there was insufficient evidence to convict her. Amir Hossein was sentenced to 10 years' jail, but Delara is now waiting to be killed.
Even if Delara had actually committed the crime (she is now 19), legally she should not be executed. However, as is all too apparent, Iran signs treaties and then blatantly defies them.
Hopefully AMnesty will actively campaign against this injustice, but for those with a desire to help, details of addresses of influential representatives of Iran's authorities can be found here.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at August 7, 2006 6:54 PM
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