Losing Hope - Women in Afghanistan: Part 1 of 2
August 14, 2010
Kobra Babaei: Sentenced to death by stoning. Severe depression. Using dangerous meds.
Kobra Babaei: Sentenced to death by stoning. Severe depression. Using dangerous meds.
Source: Newsweek
Location: Eastern Azerbaijan
Kobra Babaei is Javid Kian’s other client whose husband Rahim Mohammadi was executed in Tabriz on the charge of Sodomy. She is at risk of being stoned to death. According to her lawyer, the sentence was sent to branch 7 of the office that processes execution sentences. Rahim Mohammadi never committed sodomy; he had only staged a show to extort someone. His plan never worked and he was arrested.
However, they executed him on the charge of sodomy. After the double injustice done to Ms. Babaei, her [current] mental and psychological condition is in a horrific state. She is suffering from severe depression and uses dangerous medications. Our request for a retrial was turned down. She can be stoned any day now.”
Javid Kian asks international organizations to take action to save the lives of these four women. He says that legally his hands are tied, especially with respect to cases that are sent to the office that processes execution sentences, and therefore, he can’t do anything.
Source: Newsweek
Location: Eastern Azerbaijan
However, they executed him on the charge of sodomy. After the double injustice done to Ms. Babaei, her [current] mental and psychological condition is in a horrific state. She is suffering from severe depression and uses dangerous medications. Our request for a retrial was turned down. She can be stoned any day now.”
Javid Kian asks international organizations to take action to save the lives of these four women. He says that legally his hands are tied, especially with respect to cases that are sent to the office that processes execution sentences, and therefore, he can’t do anything.
Azar Bagheri. Wed at 14. Sentenced to death by stoning within a year.
Location: Eastern Azerbaijan
SHE was only 14 when she was forced into marriage with an older man.
Yet within a year of her wedding, Azar Bagheri was charged with adultery and sentenced to be stoned to death.
The sentence could not be carried out until she was 18. So for the past four years, Ms Bagheri has been languishing on death row while the courts waited for her to reach maturity so she could be put to death.
According to Iranian human rights activist Mina Ahadi, Ms Bagheri was denounced by her husband, who accused her of committing adultery with two men.
Ms Ahadi said the teenager had been subjected to two mock stonings.
On each occasion she was taken out of her cell and buried up to her shoulders in the yard of Tabriz prison, in northwest Iran, as if being prepared to be pelted to death with stones.
Ms Bagheri's lawyers are now planning to ask the judges to reduce her sentence to 99 lashes. Buoyed by an international campaign against Iran's death sentence for women convicted of adultery, they hope the court will show mercy.
After widespread condemnation of the sentence of stoning passed on another woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, the Iranians backed down last week. The Iranian embassy in London said that according to information from the judicial authorities in Tehran, the stoning of Ms Ashtiani would not go ahead.
But campaigners warned that Ms Ashtiani could still be executed by other means.
Amnesty International noted that three Iranians sentenced to death by stoning last year had been hanged instead.
"A mere change of the method of execution would not address the injustice," said Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
Ms Ashtiani was sentenced in 2006 for having an "illicit relationship" with two men, for which she has already received a public flogging of 99 lashes. She was convicted of adultery even though she was a widow at the time -- her husband was killed before the alleged affair started.
Her family claims that during the trial of the two men accused of murdering her husband, another court found her guilty of adultery with the suspects, even though no evidence was given.
Her lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, said: "She has been waiting to be stoned to death for six years. She is having repetitive endless nightmares about death mixed with people stoning her."
Under Iran's penal code, adultery is the only crime punishable by stoning as an offence "against divine law". The death sentence may also be imposed for murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking, but offenders are usually hanged.
Stoning is intended to cause a slow and painful death. Iran's penal code states: "The size of the stone . . . shall not be too large to kill the convict by one or two throws, and shall not be too small to be called a stone."
The Sunday Times
SHE was only 14 when she was forced into marriage with an older man.
Yet within a year of her wedding, Azar Bagheri was charged with adultery and sentenced to be stoned to death.
The sentence could not be carried out until she was 18. So for the past four years, Ms Bagheri has been languishing on death row while the courts waited for her to reach maturity so she could be put to death.
According to Iranian human rights activist Mina Ahadi, Ms Bagheri was denounced by her husband, who accused her of committing adultery with two men.
Ms Ahadi said the teenager had been subjected to two mock stonings.
On each occasion she was taken out of her cell and buried up to her shoulders in the yard of Tabriz prison, in northwest Iran, as if being prepared to be pelted to death with stones.
Ms Bagheri's lawyers are now planning to ask the judges to reduce her sentence to 99 lashes. Buoyed by an international campaign against Iran's death sentence for women convicted of adultery, they hope the court will show mercy.
After widespread condemnation of the sentence of stoning passed on another woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, the Iranians backed down last week. The Iranian embassy in London said that according to information from the judicial authorities in Tehran, the stoning of Ms Ashtiani would not go ahead.
But campaigners warned that Ms Ashtiani could still be executed by other means.
Amnesty International noted that three Iranians sentenced to death by stoning last year had been hanged instead.
"A mere change of the method of execution would not address the injustice," said Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
Ms Ashtiani was sentenced in 2006 for having an "illicit relationship" with two men, for which she has already received a public flogging of 99 lashes. She was convicted of adultery even though she was a widow at the time -- her husband was killed before the alleged affair started.
Her family claims that during the trial of the two men accused of murdering her husband, another court found her guilty of adultery with the suspects, even though no evidence was given.
Her lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, said: "She has been waiting to be stoned to death for six years. She is having repetitive endless nightmares about death mixed with people stoning her."
Under Iran's penal code, adultery is the only crime punishable by stoning as an offence "against divine law". The death sentence may also be imposed for murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking, but offenders are usually hanged.
Stoning is intended to cause a slow and painful death. Iran's penal code states: "The size of the stone . . . shall not be too large to kill the convict by one or two throws, and shall not be too small to be called a stone."
The Sunday Times
Four Iranian Women Face Execution Any Day Now: Sakineh, Maryam, Kobra, and Azar
Women Face Execution Any Day Now: Sakineh, Maryam, Kobra, and Azar
Source: Rooz Online: August 12. 2010
In an interview with Rooz Online, Javid Kian, the lawyer for the four women who received stoning sentences, has asked international organizations to act in order to save the lives of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, Maryam Ghorbanzadeh, Kobra Babaei, and Azar Bagheri.
Meanwhile, on the Wednesday night episode of the Iran state television program 20/30, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani [falsely] confessed to adultery and the murder of her husband. She also made [false] confessions against herself and her lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei.
Javid Kian is the lawyer who along with Mohammad Mostafaei represents the Ashtiani case. In an interview with Rooz, Kian talked of the pressures put on Sakineh’s children and said that the televised confession came only after Sakineh was severely beaten and physically assaulted.
Mohammad Mostafaei, referring to the confession, said that the Judiciary system should know that it cannot justify its behaviour and conduct through violence, force, extracting false confessions, and targeting and ruining the character and reputation of others.
Javid Kian also explains that he was informed through his other clients [detained] in the women’s ward of Tabriz prison that Sakineh was forced to confess in a televised interview under duress and [after receiving] extreme beatings.
Kian said the following on the latest developments in the Ashtiani case: “Our last action was to demand a re-opening and retrial of the case. They were supposed to reply in 20 days, but then the whole situation with my dear colleague Mr. Mostafaei occurred. After that, the case of Ms. Ashtiani was suspended by the Judiciary’ s Intelligence and Security. After Mr. Hosseyni Nobakhti, the executive vice-director of the Tabriz Execution of Sentences office, wrote to Mr. Ezhey, Iran’s General Attorney, Mr. Ezhei passed the case to his principle assistant Saeed Mortazavi. In turn, Mortazavi sent the case to the Judiciary’s Intelligence and Security. He added a note under the letter that the case of Ms. Ghorbanzadeh will be resolved before the case of Ms. Ashtiani. However, these two cases have no connection to one another. This indicates that the life of Maryam Ghorbanzadeh is in danger and they want to execute her as quickly as possible while global attention is focused on Sakineh’s case.”
Mostafaei added, “We argued that a human being is in danger of being stoned and there was no [option] of death [by hanging]. The head of the Tabriz Judiciary, after international attention was gained on the case, said in an interview that the sentence was death by hanging. However, this is not true. Why didn’t they interview her lawyer on television? They claim that I have never met Sakineh, even though I am her lawyer. I have talked to her on the phone many times and I have met her [in person] many times. I am officially representing her, and this is mentioned in the case too. I don’t know what they are trying to prove. If the Judiciary had accepted the demand for pardon, there would not have been so much protest and tumult over the case. The government and judiciary officials should know that they cannot achieve anything by resorting to violence, force, deception, and lies. I do not care what Israel or the USA does or says. My concern is to save the life of a human being from death. In the midst of all this, some people living outside Iran take political advantage of the situation, while others are working in a completely humane and sincere way. I do not deal with those who are taking advantage. I feel sorry for my country. I wish instead of making false documentaries, the officials would choose the correct approaches that would serve the best interests of the country, Islam, and the regime.”
Source: Rooz Online: August 12. 2010
Meanwhile, on the Wednesday night episode of the Iran state television program 20/30, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani [falsely] confessed to adultery and the murder of her husband. She also made [false] confessions against herself and her lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei.
Javid Kian is the lawyer who along with Mohammad Mostafaei represents the Ashtiani case. In an interview with Rooz, Kian talked of the pressures put on Sakineh’s children and said that the televised confession came only after Sakineh was severely beaten and physically assaulted.
Mohammad Mostafaei, referring to the confession, said that the Judiciary system should know that it cannot justify its behaviour and conduct through violence, force, extracting false confessions, and targeting and ruining the character and reputation of others.
The Beating of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was shown on television confessing against herself and her lawyer while her case and her fate is still in a cloud of obscurity in the wake of the halt of her stoning sentence. After the confessions of his client was aired, Javid Kian told Rooz, “They took Ms. Ashtiani to room 37 of Tabriz prison and had her confess against herself. However, these confessions were not extracted under normal circumstances. Based on the information I have, Ms. Ashtiani was beaten severely and was forced to take part in the interview. They also filmed family members of Ms. Ashtiani making statements against her. ”He added, “They approached Ms. Ashtiani’s extremely religious family members and filmed them stating that Sakineh committed adultery and must be punished. Unfortunately, Ms. Ashtiani’s family members have put pressure on her children and said to them, ‘Your mother has ruined the reputation of our family and has to be executed and stoned.’ There is a lot of psychological pressure on the children.”Javid Kian also explains that he was informed through his other clients [detained] in the women’s ward of Tabriz prison that Sakineh was forced to confess in a televised interview under duress and [after receiving] extreme beatings.
Kian said the following on the latest developments in the Ashtiani case: “Our last action was to demand a re-opening and retrial of the case. They were supposed to reply in 20 days, but then the whole situation with my dear colleague Mr. Mostafaei occurred. After that, the case of Ms. Ashtiani was suspended by the Judiciary’ s Intelligence and Security. After Mr. Hosseyni Nobakhti, the executive vice-director of the Tabriz Execution of Sentences office, wrote to Mr. Ezhey, Iran’s General Attorney, Mr. Ezhei passed the case to his principle assistant Saeed Mortazavi. In turn, Mortazavi sent the case to the Judiciary’s Intelligence and Security. He added a note under the letter that the case of Ms. Ghorbanzadeh will be resolved before the case of Ms. Ashtiani. However, these two cases have no connection to one another. This indicates that the life of Maryam Ghorbanzadeh is in danger and they want to execute her as quickly as possible while global attention is focused on Sakineh’s case.”
Mohammad Mostafaei’s Reaction to the Televised Confession
Mohammad Mostafaei told Rooz, “Everyone knows that when the life of a person is in danger, or when (s)he faces death or a stoning sentence, (s)he would have no choice but to sit behind any camera and accept the demands of those who have the control of his/her life. (S)he would say whatever they want to be said. I am certain that this was the case in Sakineh’s confessions. I have to say, however, that the question of murder in Sakineh’s case does not hold at all because the murder was one case and the stoning was another case [in court]. What is important is that when the family of the victim consent to forgive and spare the life the defendant, execution and Qesas (eye-for-an-eye execution) are out of the question, and this has nothing to do with the type and form of the murder. So, while the question of murder has been resolved, it is highlighted on television to justify the [illegal] actions. Why wasn’t the stoning sentence discussed [on television]? Why didn’t they announce that Sakineh requested a pardon three times, but each time it was turned down? Why didn’t they mention the fact that two out of the five judges voted not-guilty [to her sentence] due to a lack of evidence in the adultery charge?”Mostafaei added, “We argued that a human being is in danger of being stoned and there was no [option] of death [by hanging]. The head of the Tabriz Judiciary, after international attention was gained on the case, said in an interview that the sentence was death by hanging. However, this is not true. Why didn’t they interview her lawyer on television? They claim that I have never met Sakineh, even though I am her lawyer. I have talked to her on the phone many times and I have met her [in person] many times. I am officially representing her, and this is mentioned in the case too. I don’t know what they are trying to prove. If the Judiciary had accepted the demand for pardon, there would not have been so much protest and tumult over the case. The government and judiciary officials should know that they cannot achieve anything by resorting to violence, force, deception, and lies. I do not care what Israel or the USA does or says. My concern is to save the life of a human being from death. In the midst of all this, some people living outside Iran take political advantage of the situation, while others are working in a completely humane and sincere way. I do not deal with those who are taking advantage. I feel sorry for my country. I wish instead of making false documentaries, the officials would choose the correct approaches that would serve the best interests of the country, Islam, and the regime.”
Life of Maryam Ghorbanzadeh in Danger, Forced Abortion at Six Months
Location: East Azerbaijan
Report Originally Published in Persian
According to Javid Kian, the lawyer for 25 year old Maryam Ghorbanzadeh, in a letter to Judiciary intelligence and security, judicial officials (most notably Saeed Mortazavi) decided that the case of Maryam Ghorbanzadeh needs to be resolved so they could deal with Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s case.
Javid Kian tells Rooz that “all the attention is focused on the Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani case, and in the midst of it all, the life of Ms. Ghorbanzadeh is at risk. In the wake of protests against Ms. Ashtiani’s stoning sentence, [authorities] changed the stoning sentence for Ms. Ghorbanzadeh to death by hanging. The ruling was sent to the department that processes death sentences. She can be executed any moment now.”
Javid Kian explains that Ms. Ghorbanzadeh’s case is similar to Sakineh’s. Ghorbanzadeh was facing death by stoning, but after international protests against Ashtiani’s case, Mr. Nobakht, the Tabriz Vice-Attorney General, sent the case to branch 12 of the Provincial Criminal Court under the pretext that the case may cause too much noise and deface the image of Islam. The branch in question changed the stoning sentence to death by hanging.
Javid Kian added, “All I can do is demand for the case to be reopened and ask for a retrial, and I have done both. But, it is unclear whether they will accept my request or not. Unfortunately, the case is currently in branch 7 which processes death sentences.” Kian explained how and why his client was arrested: “Ms. Ghorbanzadeh’s husband was extremely paranoid to the point that he would make Ms. Ghorbanzadeh take sleeping pills every day before he left home, and he would lock her up in the house while he was out. He had been divorced twice by his ex-wives for this disorder. All the facts are available in the case.
Ms. Ghorbanzadeh was not able to leave home for months until finally she began a relationship with a man who eventually became her husband’s killer. I have to point out that she had no role in the murder and the murder had nothing to do with her. The murderer is free on bail. After the murder, Ms. Ghorbanzadeh entered a temporary marriage (siqah) with the new man. The certificate of the temporary marriage is also available. However, the family of the victim, who was after the inheritance without giving anything to Ms. Ghorbanzadeh, arranged for her [temporary] husband to be arrested.
A house search uncovered a sex tape of Ms. Ghorbanzadeh and her temporary husband. The film is used as evidence by the judge in branch 12 to issue a stoning sentence. Our argument that the defendant and the man are officially married was not taken into account. The judge claims the film’s content was recorded when Ms. Ghorbanzadeh was married to her [first] husband, and that the date on the film indicates that it was recorded before [he was murdered].”
Kian describes the emotional and psychological state of her client as very bad. He said, “Unfortunately, Maryam’s emotional state is not good at all, and after the abortion, it has worsened. Now that she is at risk of execution, you can only imagine what she is going through.”
Report Originally Published in Persian
Javid Kian tells Rooz that “all the attention is focused on the Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani case, and in the midst of it all, the life of Ms. Ghorbanzadeh is at risk. In the wake of protests against Ms. Ashtiani’s stoning sentence, [authorities] changed the stoning sentence for Ms. Ghorbanzadeh to death by hanging. The ruling was sent to the department that processes death sentences. She can be executed any moment now.”
Javid Kian explains that Ms. Ghorbanzadeh’s case is similar to Sakineh’s. Ghorbanzadeh was facing death by stoning, but after international protests against Ashtiani’s case, Mr. Nobakht, the Tabriz Vice-Attorney General, sent the case to branch 12 of the Provincial Criminal Court under the pretext that the case may cause too much noise and deface the image of Islam. The branch in question changed the stoning sentence to death by hanging.
Javid Kian added, “All I can do is demand for the case to be reopened and ask for a retrial, and I have done both. But, it is unclear whether they will accept my request or not. Unfortunately, the case is currently in branch 7 which processes death sentences.” Kian explained how and why his client was arrested: “Ms. Ghorbanzadeh’s husband was extremely paranoid to the point that he would make Ms. Ghorbanzadeh take sleeping pills every day before he left home, and he would lock her up in the house while he was out. He had been divorced twice by his ex-wives for this disorder. All the facts are available in the case.
Ms. Ghorbanzadeh was not able to leave home for months until finally she began a relationship with a man who eventually became her husband’s killer. I have to point out that she had no role in the murder and the murder had nothing to do with her. The murderer is free on bail. After the murder, Ms. Ghorbanzadeh entered a temporary marriage (siqah) with the new man. The certificate of the temporary marriage is also available. However, the family of the victim, who was after the inheritance without giving anything to Ms. Ghorbanzadeh, arranged for her [temporary] husband to be arrested.
A house search uncovered a sex tape of Ms. Ghorbanzadeh and her temporary husband. The film is used as evidence by the judge in branch 12 to issue a stoning sentence. Our argument that the defendant and the man are officially married was not taken into account. The judge claims the film’s content was recorded when Ms. Ghorbanzadeh was married to her [first] husband, and that the date on the film indicates that it was recorded before [he was murdered].”
Abortion at the end of the second trimester
Javid Kian states that Ms. Ghorbanzadeh was pregnant when she was arrested: “When Maryam was six months pregnant, they forced her to have an abortion so they can execute her, since they are not allowed to execute a pregnant woman. We protested vehemently against this act, and argued that the fetus is considered a person at the end of the first trimester. We said that destroying the fetus is considered murder, but they did not pay any attention to our protest. The controversy around Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s case has resulted in Maryam’s case to speed up. Maryam has to pay the price now.”Kian describes the emotional and psychological state of her client as very bad. He said, “Unfortunately, Maryam’s emotional state is not good at all, and after the abortion, it has worsened. Now that she is at risk of execution, you can only imagine what she is going through.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)