The Iranian authorities hanged on Saturday morning a woman convicted for killing a man who allegedly tried to sexually abuse her, despite an international campaign to defy the verdict.
According to Amnesty International, Reyhaneh Jabbari was sentenced to death in 2009 after a deeply flawed investigation and trial.
Her execution was due to be carried out on 30 September but was postponed for 10 days.
“The death penalty is a despicable punishment that is both cruel and inhumane,” Amnesty International said in a statement released a few hours prior to the execution.
“Applying such a punishment in any circumstances is an affront to justice, but doing so after a flawed trial that leaves huge questions hanging over the case only makes it more tragic,” the statement added.
Jabbari, 26, was arrested in 2007 for the murder of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former employee of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence.
She was placed in solitary confinement for two months and was denied access to a lawyer or her family. She was sentenced to death by a criminal court in Tehran in 2009.
Jabbari apparently admitted to stabbing Sarbandi, whom she said had tried to sexually assault her. However, she said that another man who was also in the house at the time killed him. Her claims do not appear to have ever been properly investigated.
Jabbari’s execution has been deferred a number of times, including in the last month.
“Instead of repeatedly rescheduling Reyhaneh Jabbari’s execution date, the Iranian judiciary should order a re-trial that complies with international standards for fair trial without recourse to the death penalty,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa Programme.
