URGENT ACTION
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/100/2006
12 September 2006
Further Information on UA 283/05 (MDE 13/052/2005, 1 November 2005) and
follow-up (MDE 13/073/2005, 25 November 2005) - Fear of imminent execution
IRAN Shahla Jahed (f), aged
36
Shahla Jahed is once again
facing imminent execution, after the Supreme Court
reportedly upheld her death sentence for the second time. She was sentenced to
death for murdering her husband’s first wife in 2002. She may have been coerced
into confessing to the murder.
Shahla Jahed, a
"temporary" wife of Nasser Mohammad-Khani,
a former striker for
the Iranian national football team and former manager of a team in
stands accused of stabbing to death Laleh Saharkhizan, her husband’s
"permanent" wife, on 9 October 2002. She was initially sentenced to
death in
June 2004 and an appeal by her relatives, at the time, was rejected and the
judges of Branch 15 of the Supreme Court upheld the sentence. Shahla Jahed’s
lawyer reportedly wrote a letter to the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, requesting a review of the execution order in
view
of the fact that Shahla Jahed's
case had not been properly investigated. In
November 2005 the Head of the Judiciary reportedly ordered a stay of execution
so that the case could be re-examined.
On 11 September 2006, the judges of Branch Seven of the Supreme Court
reportedly upheld Shahla Jahed’s
death sentence by a majority vote. Her lawyer
reportedly confirmed that the Supreme Court's ruling had been written and
endorsed and that both Shahla Jahed
and the family of Laleh Saharkhizan
would
be formally informed of the decision on 13 September.
Shahla Jahed was said to
have confessed to the murder of Laleh Saharkhizan
during the initial investigation, but during her trial consistently upheld her
innocence. In December 2004, on being told of a previous Supreme Court ruling
in the case, Shahla Jahed
reportedly said, "Everyone knows the conditions under
which I confessed."
The prosecution reportedly claimed that Shahla Jahed had murdered Laleh
Saharkhizan out of jealousy. Nasser Mohammad-Khani was himself initially
suspected of complicity in the murder and jailed for some months, but was
reportedly released.
Amnesty International is concerned that Shahla Jahed’s confession may have been
made under duress.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Under Iranian law, men and women can have both "permanent" and
"temporary"
marriages. In a temporary marriage, men and women can commit to be married for
a certain period of time, after which the marriage is null and void.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases as the ultimate
cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, in violation of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. The organization has recorded 108 executions in
may be much higher.
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AI Index: MDE 13/100/2006 |
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12 September 2006 |