IRAN: Iranian Government Executes 967th Person Under Hassan Rouhani. And It’s A Woman. Her Crime Punishable Under Sharia Law, Acted In Self Defense Against Her Rapist.

Iran: Tragic remarks of Reyhaneh Jabbari’s mother subsequent to her execution. English Subtitle.

Hot Air

Iran executes 967th person under Hassan Rouhani. And it’s a woman

written by Jazz Shaw

Saturday October 25, 2014

Not that the rest of the world doesn’t have its share of bad news, but this is just a reminder of who it is we are dealing with in Iran. (Or, more correctly, who the President may be dealing with.) Since becoming president last year, Hassan Rouhani has overseen Iran’s execution of 967 people. The latest one was Reyhaneh Jabbari. Her crime was stabbing – and probably not even killing – the man who was trying to rape her.

Amnesty International denounced “another bloody stain” on Iran’s human rights record on Saturday when a 26-year-old woman was executed for allegedly killing a man who she said was intent on rape.

Reyhaneh Jabbari was hanged at dawn in Rajaie Shahr prison outside Tehran after spending seven years behind bars. She was the 967th person to be executed since Hassan Rouhani took office as Iran’s president on 4 Aug 2013, according to the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre.

The state media announced that Miss Jabbari had been put to death after the family of the man she was accused of killing declined to grant a reprieve. Her mother, Shole Pakravan, confirmed the execution and said she was going to a cemetery to identify her daughter’s corpse.

I really don’t care to turn this into yet another debate over the death penalty. We certainly execute our fair share of people in the United States – at least in some of the states – but they tend to be maniacal, murdering monsters. In America, I don’t think this woman would have done a single night in jail for this. And now she’s dead, hanged before a crowd in a prison courtyard.

Rouhani may be only a puppet for the real power in Iran (read: the Supreme Leader and the Council of Guardians), but he is a willing puppet. Iran’s government is not yet part of the 20th century, say nothing of the 21st, with the exception their aspirations toward tactical weapons capability. And that’s kind of a shame, because it seems as if at least some of their young people in the more urban areas have adopted something of a westernized lifestyle. Whether that translates into any sort of desire for a less medieval, theocratic oppression of their lives among some sort of “moderate” segment of the population remains to be seen. But for the time being, embracing Iran as any sort of partner in international relations is a pipe dream.

I'm going to UN Human Rights Council to host 4 amazing Iranians who will tell the truth 1 day before Iran tells lies: http://t.co/tiGZACKiXe
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) October 30, 2014

UN Watch strongly condemns Iran for hanging Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 26-year-old woman who acted in self-defense when a man tried to rape her.
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) October 25, 2014

UN Watch.org

UN Watch forum on Iran to feature lawyer of 26-year-old Reyhaneh Jabbari, who was executed by Iran on Saturday

Tuesday October 28, 2014

Victims, activists, experts to expose violations on eve of Iran's UN review.

GENEVA - One day before Iran goes before a United Nations examination of its human rights record, the non-governmental organization UN Watch will convene an international forum of Iranian victims, activists and experts this Thursday, October 30th, to expose gross and systematic violations that are covered up in the regime's written submission to the UN review session. (See excerpts below.)

The UN Watch parallel event, to take place inside the UN's European headquarters at the Palais de Nations in Geneva, will feature leading figures on the subject of human rights in Iran:

Mohammad Mostafaei - Iranian human rights lawyer who was forced to flee the country after being persecuted by the authorities for his defense of individuals facing the death penalty. Mr. Mostafei was the first lawyer of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 26-year-old woman who was just executed by Iran on Saturday for allegedly killing the man who was trying to rape her. Mr. Mostafaei is the founder and director of Norway's Universal Tolerance Organization. In 2011, he was awarded PEN's Ossietzky Prize.

Sepideh Pooraghaiee - Iranian journalist and human rights activist who was jailed for 110 days in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison. Ms. Pooraghaiee recently fled Iran, finding asylum in France, after she was threatened by the government for reporting on its crackdown against peaceful protesters. "I was in danger because I know the truth," she says. "And it was bad for them."

Marina Nemat - Iranian dissident, former prisoner of conscience and best-selling author, now living in Canada, who was jailed as a political prisoner in Tehran when she was only 16 years old. During her incarceration for two years in the infamous Evin Prison, she was interrogated, tortured, faced execution, and was raped by a prison guard who she was coerced to marry. Ms. Nemat was the recipient of the European Parliament’s inaugural Human Dignity Prize in 2007, and in 2014 was awarded UN Watch's Morris B. Abram Human Rights Award.

Sohrab Ahmari - London-based editorial page writer for the Wall Street Journal. Born in Tehran, Mr. Ahmari was interrogated by Iranian security officials as a child when he accidentally brought a Star Wars video cassette to school. He holds a law degree from Northeastern University and previously served as a nonresident fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. An alumnus of Teach for America, Mr. Ahmari is co-editor of "Arab Spring Dreams," an anthology of essays by young dissidents in the Middle East (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).

Excerpts from Iran's Report to this Friday's UN Review Session

● “The laws of Iran repudiate all forms of torture.”

● “Iran has tirelessly worked to advance women’s rights.”

● "In order to protect the rights of the people, the Supreme Leader has communicated the following general policies in 2014: [...] the need to fulfill the legal and religious rights of women... the protection of legitimate freedoms and the protection of the nation’s fundamental rights."

● “In all stages of prosecution, including detection, investigation and implementation of sentence – irrespective of race, religion, gender or ethnicity – fairness is of paramount importance.”

● “Consistent with article 14 of the Constitution, the Government is required to treat non-Muslims with respect and Islamic justice and equity, and to respect their human rights.

● “Alongside the recognized religious minorities, the rights of all citizens – including the followers of the Baha’i sect – are respected.”