Zahra Bani Yaghoub ( fa, زهرا بنی‌یعقوب, also mentioned in the media as Zahra Bani Ameri; 16 October 1980 – 13 October 2007) was an Iranian medical doctor. She died in a prison in

Hamedan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ham ...

after she was arrested by the

Guidance Patrol The Guidance Patrol ( fa, گشت ارشاد, translit=gašt-e eršād) or morality police is a vice squad / Islamic religious police in the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran, established in 2005 with the task of arresting ...

. The incident gained attention in the press due to the possible police involvement in her death.

Career

Born in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, Bani Yaghoub studied at

Tehran University The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

medical school and worked as a volunteer physician in Hamedan Province. Zahra Bani Yaghoub was a distinguished young medical doctor and had several recognitions including her top rank in nationwide university entrance examination. The police told her father: "Iran does not need such medical doctors."gooya news :: politics : روايتی ديگر از مرگ زهرا بنی عامری، دکتر زهرا به قتل رسيده يا خودکشی کرده است؟ کانون زنان
/ref> Nobel Laureate

Shirin Ebadi Shirin Ebadi ( fa, شيرين عبادى, Širin Ebādi; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian political activist, lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi wa ...

has taken the case and is currently the official lawyer of Zahra Bani Yaghoub's family.

Death

In 2007, Iranian police launched a "Public Security Plan and Moralization Campaign". Many Iranian citizens including many women were arrested and questioned for "un-Islamic" behavior. That same year, Zahra was sitting on a park bench with her fiancé when Iranian police arrested the couple. This was considered by the Iranian judiciary to be a breach of modesty laws because the two were not yet married. They were taken to jail and held in separate cells, and Yaghoub died under custody the following day. Iranian officials claimed that the victim committed suicide by hanging herself. However the lawyer did not accept the claims and requested investigations.

Notes

External links

Iran: Female Doctor's Prison Death Causes Public Outcry

by

Masoud Behnoud Masoud Behnoud ( fa, مسعود بهنود; born in Tehran) is an Iranian journalist, He began his career as a journalist in 1964. Since then he has worked as an investigating journalist for different newspapers. Behnoud lives in the United Ki ...

BBC article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bani Yaghoub, Zahra Physicians from Tehran University of Tehran alumni 1980 births 2007 deaths Iranian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Iranian detention History of the Islamic Republic of Iran 20th-century Iranian physicians

Career

Death

See also

Notes

External links