www.ildialogo.org Shahla Jahed is at imminent risk of execution,di Claudio Giusti

The Iranian woman Shahla Jahed is at imminent risk of execution

Execution order sent to the prison

Shahla Jahed, wife of the former player of the Iranian national soccer team, is believed to be at imminent danger of execution after Mohammad Saegh Larijani, head of the Iarnian judiciary, sent the execution order to the section for implementation of the verdict.

According to several Iranian media, such as the state run Fars news agency, the execution order was sent to the prison where Shahla has been held the past 8 years.

Khadijeh Shahla Jahed was convicted of murdering Laleh Saharkhizan, wife of Nasser Mohammad-Khani in 2002. She initially confessed to the murder but later stressed that she was innocent and that the confessions were made under pressure in the prison.

Her case received broad national and international attention and her verdict was halted by the Supreme court in 2008. Earlier this year she wrote a letter to Larijani, head of the judiciary, were she asked for a final decision.

Now that Larijani has sent the execution order to the prison, she can be executed at any time unless the family of the offended pardon her.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson of Iran Human Rights, urged the international community to help stop Shahla's execution. He said: "If the international community doesn;t react, Shahla Jahed will be yet another victim of the Iranian regime’s death penalty machine". He added: "We condemn the execution verdic regardless of whether Shahla Jahed is innocent or not. We have all the reason to believe that she has been tortured in order to confess to the offence".

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Background inromation from Amnesty International: Shahla Jahed was a "temporary" wife of Nasser Mohammad-Khani, a former striker for the Iranian national football team and former manager of a team in Tehran. According to press reports, Shahla Jahed was originally sentenced to death by hanging in 2004 for stabbing to death Laleh Saharkhizan, Nasser Mohammad-Khani's "permanent" wife. 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.

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.

Shahla Jahed is said to have confessed to the murder during the initial investigation, but during her trial consistently upheld her innocence.

(source: Iran Human Rights)

NOVEMBER 8, 2010:

From Rick Halperin’s site

http://people.smu.edu/rhalperi/updates.html

Dott. Claudio Giusti

Via Don Minzoni 40, 47100 Forlì, Italia
Tel. 39/0543/401562 39/340/4872522
e-mail giusticlaudio@alice.it

http://www.osservatoriosullalegalita.org/special/penam.htm

Member of the Scientific Committee of Osservatorio sulla Legalità e i Diritti, Claudio Giusti had the privilege and the honour to participate in the first congress of the Italian Section of Amnesty International: later he was one of the founders of the World Coalition Against The Death Penalty.

Martedì 09 Novembre,2010 Ore: 15:09