Atefeh Rajabi Sahaaleh ( fa, عاطفه رجبی سهاله; September 21, 1987 – August 15, 2004) was an

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian girl from the town of

Neka Neka ( fa, نكا, also Romanized as Nekā’ and Nekā; also known as Nīkā; formerly, Nāranj Bāgh) is a city and capital of Neka County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 46,152, in 11,941 families. Geograph ...

who was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

a week after being

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

by Haji Rezai, head of Neka's court, on charges of

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

and crimes against chastity. Numerous Iranian journalists and lawyers had "strong evidence that the judiciary had broken Iran's own law in executing Atefah", but this was difficult to show because of Iran's press censorship.

Early life

Born in

Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...

, Atefeh's mother died in a car accident when she was five. Shortly after, her younger brother is said to have drowned in a river. Her father became a drug addict, and she was forced to care for her octogenarian grandparents. Despite her attention to their needs they are reported to have completely ignored her. She was described as a "lively and intelligent girl."

Arrest

Atefeh was convicted for crimes against chastity after being raped repeatedly by Ali Darabi, an 51-year-old ex-revolutionary guard turned taxi driver. Darabi was a married man with children at the time. Atefeh had been raped by Darabi over a period of 3 years without her family being aware. While in prison she was further allegedly tortured and raped by prison guards. She told this to her grandmother who visited her saying that afterwards she could only walk on all fours because of the pain. The judge in her case was Haji Rezai. When Atefah realized that she was losing her case, she removed her

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

, an act seen as a severe contempt of the court, and argued that Ali Darabi should be punished, not her. She even removed her shoes and threw them at the judge. Rezai later sentenced her to death. According to the BBC, the documents presented to the Supreme Court of Appeal described her as 22 years old, but her birth certificate and death certificate stated that she was 16. The issue of her age was not brought to proper attention before it was too late.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and other organisations claimed that she had a psychological illness, both before and at the trial.

Execution

She was publicly

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

from a crane in Neka on August 15, 2004. Amnesty International and other organizations declared her execution to be a crime against humanity and against children of the world.

Aftermath

After the execution of Atefeh, Iranian media reported that Judge Rezai and several militia members, including Captain Zabihi and Captain Molai, were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry. The execution is considered controversial because as a signatory of the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedo ...

, Iran promised not to execute anyone under the age of 18. Atefeh's father had passed her birth certificate to the civil authorities, lawyers involved, journalists and Judge Rezai. Pursuant to continual complaints filed by Atefeh's family, and heavy international pressure about her execution and the way the judge mishandled the case, the

Supreme Court of Iran The Supreme Court of Iran is the highest juridical authority in Iran, established to supervise the correct implementation of laws by courts of justice and consisting of the most prominent judges of the country. The head of the judiciary assigns cr ...

issued an order to pardon Atefeh.

Documentaries

The case of Atefeh Sahaaleh is the subject of a BBC documentary made by Wild Pictures in 2006. Monica Garnsey and

Arash Sahami Arash the Archer ( fa, آرش کمانگیر ''Āraš-e Kamāngīr'') is a heroic archer-figure of Iranian mythology. According to Iranian folklore, the boundary between Iran and Turan was set by an arrow launched by Arash, after he put his own ...

went undercover to document the case. It is also the subject of an hour-long

Discovery Times Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...

program called ''Execution in Iran.''

References

External links

Execution of a teenage girl
BBC
Amnesty International statement

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahaaleh, Atefeh Women's rights in Iran Sharia in Asia Executed Iranian people 1987 births 2004 deaths Executed Iranian women 21st-century executions by Iran Executed children Executed juvenile offenders People from Mazandaran Province People executed for adultery People executed by Iran by hanging Wrongful convictions Wrongful executions People who have received posthumous pardons