Delara Darabi

Young woman executed in violation of law

all credits Stop Child Executions
originally published 1st May 2009
Any news updates on this case will be listed at the foot of this item

Delara Darabi was executed in secret in Rasht Prison on 1^st May 2009, without prior notification given to her attorney. She was sentenced to death for a murder that happened during a break-in when she was 17 years old.

According to Delara the murder of her father’s female cousin was committed by her 19 year old boyfriend Amir Hossein Sotoudeh, whom she was in love with. Delara initially confessed to the murder, but soon retracted her confession. She claimed that Amir Hossein asked her to admit responsibility for the murder to protect him from execution, believing that since she was under the age of 18, she could not be sentenced to death.

Delara Darabi’s death sentence was given by a lower court in the northern city of Rasht. Branch 107 (juvenile court) confirmed her execution in her second trial and yet again in Branch 33 of the Supreme Court.

Amir Hossein received a prison sentence of 10 years for his involvement in the crime. Amnesty International had made several public statements in Delara’s support.

Delara was originally scheduled to be executed April 20, but her execution was stayed and postponed for two months by the head of the judiciary after massive domestic and international pressure.

But then she was unexpectedly executed in violation of Iran’s own laws, less than two weeks later, in what was probably a cynical move by the Iranian authorities to avoid more protests. Her attorney was not informed in advance, to avoid news about the execution leaking out.

In 20^th January 2007 Delara attempted suicide by cutting her wrists; however her cell-mate noticed the incident and called for help. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was revived.

Delara was the most well known Iranian minor on the death row. She was also a talented artist and continued her art work in prison. In 2006 there was an exhibition of her paintings in Tehran. In his blog Iranian attorney, Mohammad Mostafaei who represents many Iranian juveniles on the death row wrote this morning: “She was not a murderer. I swear she was not“

Amnesty International Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui stated that “Amnesty International is outraged at the execution of Delara Darabi, and particularly at the news that her lawyer was not informed about the execution, despite the legal requirement that he should receive 48 hours’ notice… This appears to have been a cynical move to avoid domestic and international protests which might have saved Delara Darabi’s life.. This indicates that even decisions by the Head of the Judiciary carry no weight and are disregarded in the provinces”.

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