11 April 2014 – Amnesty international: Reyhaneh Jabbari, aged 26, was arrested in 2007 for the murder of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former employee of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence. Reyhaneh Jabbari confessed to the murder immediately after her arrest, though she did not have a lawyer present at the time she made her confession. She stated that the murder took place in self-defence.
UA: 85/14 Index: MDE 13/018/2014 Iran Date: 11 April 2014
URGENT ACTION
Iranian woman at risk of execution
The death sentence of Iranian woman Reyhaneh Jabbari has been sent to the Office of Implementation of Sentences in Tehran, Iran. Once death sentences have gone to this body, they may be carried out at any time.
Reyhaneh Jabbari, aged 26, was arrested in 2007 for the murder of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former employee of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence. Reyhaneh Jabbari confessed to the murder immediately after her arrest, though she did not have a lawyer present at the time she made her confession. She stated that the murder took place in self-defence.
Following her arrest, Reyhaneh Jabbari was held in solitary confinement for two months in Tehran’s Evin Prison, where she did not have access to a lawyer or her family.
Reyhaneh Jabbari was sentenced to death under qesas (“retribution-in-kind”) by a criminal court in Tehran in 2009. The death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court the same year. Her family was told in March 2014 that the sentence had gone for implementation. Under Iranian law, before the execution is carried out, the defendant’s lawyer must be notified 48 hours in advance. Sentences of qesas are not open to pardon or amnesty by the Supreme Leader.
Amnesty International believes that Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi’s association with the Ministry of Intelligence may have affected the impartiality of the court’s investigation.
Please write immediately in Persian, English, Arabic or your own language:
Calling on the Iranian authorities to not execute Reyhanah Jabbari;
Reminding them that under Article 6(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is state party, anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 23 MAY 2014 TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid
KeshvarDoust Street,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Twitter: @khamenei_ir
Email: info_leader@leader.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani
c/o Public Relations Office
Number 4, 2 Azizi Street intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
(Subject line: FAO
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani)
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Hassan Rouhani
The Presidency
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: media@rouhani.ir
Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English) and
@Rouhani_ir (Persian)
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
URGENT ACTION
Iranian woman at risk of execution
ADditional Information
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution, because the death penalty violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
Name: Reyhaneh Jabbari
Gender m/f: f
