The Mullahs Approve Delara Darabi's Death Sentence

Approval of Delara's Death Sentence in Distinction Branch of the Supreme Court

Sources familiar with Delara's case report that Delara's death sentence has been approved and the order will be soon issued to her lawyer.

Delara Darabi, accused of murder, has spent the past 3 years in prison. Recent beatings in prison have left her with a broken arm and she is not feeling well.

Yesterday, Delara's father filed a letter with the head of the judiciary, seeking a transfer of prison for his daughter. In this letter, Delara's father states: "Delara is in dire condition and is suffering greatly. She is only accused. We have reasons to show that she is not a murderer. However, even if she were guilty, she has a basic right to be treated fairly in prison, not to have her arm broken. If Delara is a murderer, she should be executed once, not a thousand times. Yet, in Rasht prison, she is executed a thousand times a day. I need your help to save my daughter."

In an discussion with Mino Hemati of Rahai-Zan TV, Abdolsamad Khoramshahi, Delara's defense counsel stated today that his objection to Distinction Branch's decision was rejected today. Accordingly, the only person who can commute this sentence is the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi. By finding fault in the case, he can issue a new trial or commute Delara's death sentence.

Click HERE to view report in Farsi.

Please take immediate action to prevent the execution of Delara Darabi. The following are a few things that you can do:

1. Sign the petition objecting to the impending execution of Delara Darabi and encourage your friends, colleagues, associates, and family members to do the same.

MOST IMPORTANTLY:

2. Contact the office of Ayatollah Shahroudi by fax or mail to voice your objection:
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice,
Panzdah-Khordad Circle,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

(From United States, dial 0 first)
Phone: 98 (21) 391-1109
Fax: 98 (21) 390-4986

You can also send your appeals electronically via the judiciary website:
http://iranjudiciary.org

Note: The fields are written in Persian. 1st line is for your Name; 2nd your Email; 3rd the Subject (which should read "URGENT LETTER TO AYATOLLAH HASHEMI SHAHROUDI REGARDING DELARA DARABI"); 4th is for your Comments.

Inquiries: info@SaveDelara.com. For more information, visit: http://www.savedelara.com/

Related Information:

Amnesty International Urgent Action Appeal for Delara Darabi: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130012006?open&of=ENG-392

Mino Hemati interview with Delara's lawyer: http://www.savedelara.com/subpage.html

Petition objecting to Delara's execution: http://www.petitiononline.com/DL2222/petition.html

Delara's father writes letter to Iran's chief of judiciary

Delara Darabi's father writes a desperate letter to Iran's head of judiciary, Ayatolla Shahroodi, about the status of his daughter. According to this letter, Delara faces horrid conditions in prison, including abuse, and mus take anxiety pills to deal with those conditions. Delara's lawyer and father have asked that Delara be transferred from her current prison in Rasht to one in Tehran. Here are some parts of the letter:

“For the past 3 years, Delara has lived with pain and abuse. For the past three years, she has been haunted by images of the noose around her neck; yet, she has sealed her lips and has refused to talk about the pain and abuse to me and her mother. I am certain that she is innocent and that her innocence will be proven. However, I request that she be transferred to Tehran until a final decision is issued in her case."

"On a daily basis, Delara takes 15 anxiety pills, and, as stated earlier, she is extremely upset and has become very thin."

"Delara’s bad emotional state has even taken her close to death and my daughter attempted suicide in jail but she was rescued. So please do not allow her to disappear little by little for a crime that she never committed. I want you to help her."

"When Delara should be attending college, striving for a better future, she is in jail instead and is being punished for someone else’s crime. I ask you to rescue her from these hellish conditions."

You can read the rest of the letter and the report in Farsi at www.SaveDelara.com/news.html

Mino Hemati's interview with Delara's Lawyer

I found the interview with Delara's lawyer enlightening. The interview was conducted a couple of months ago by Mino Hemati, who seems to have played a significant role in obtaining amnesty in the case of Nazanin Fatehi. Here's an excerpt:


From Rahai-Zan, as I had explained before, on June 28th of last year, an organization headed by Nahid Riazi went to the European Parliament in Brussels and met with members of parliament to discuss four specific cases: Delara Darabi, Nazanin Fatehi, Kobra Rahmanpour, and Fatemeh Haghigat-Pejou. They took these specific cases to the parliament and after meeting with members of parliament, on [July] 12, meaning less than one month, in 3 weeks, the parliament issued a response to Rahai Zan, stating that Angelika Beer, president of Iran’s representation in the European Parliament, and [an official] of European Union’s Human Rights Commission announced that they have requested more information from us about those cases and they informed us that they were looking into those specific cases.

On August 7, Mr. Elmar Brok, Chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Relations’s Committee, via direct contact with Rahai Zan stated that they have submitted a letter to Akbar Ahani, the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to Belgium, noting Iran’s membership in the Convention on Civil Rights and seeking amnesty for these women. They highlighted the fact that two of these women, Delara Darabi and Nazanin Fatehi, were under the age of 18 when the alleged crimes occurred and they placed great emphasis on this issue and demanded the release of these four individuals.

On January 16, Amnesty International requested amnesty in the case of 18 year old Nazanin and 19 year old Delara Darabi. Amnesty International demanded the release of all four women, but as I mentioned, it placed special emphasis on the release of Nazanin Fatehi and Delara Darabi. And since then, there has been a campaign to save these women, and this campaign, by Amnesty International, continues, and, as I speak to you, there is a vast signature drive underway, and we have added the links to .tv and .org websites. I ask that you sign these petitions, and whether inside or outside Iran, I request that international entities, supporters of human rights and women’s rights, and others send in your objections by mail or fax to judicial authorities in Iran and embassies against all executions, but particularly with respect to Delara Darabi.

You can read the actual interview with Delara Darabi's lawyer, Abdolsamad Khoramshahi, here.

URGENT: OFFICIALS IN RASHT PREPARING TO EXECUTE DELARA DARABI

Officials in Rasht Preparing to Hang Delara Darabi Despite Khoramshahi's
Request for Review of Delara's Case

Before the new year holiday in Iran, Abdolsammad Khoramshahi, attorney
for Delara Darabi , filed his objection to the Supreme Court's affirmation of Delara's death sentence, as well as a request for a review of Delara's case by a five-judge panel.

However, according to sources close to Delara's case, during the new year
holiday, officials in Rasht, where Delara is has been imprisoned for the
past 3 years, have been in communication with the office of Iran's head of
judiciary in preparation to hang the young artist.

Ayatollah Shahroudi, head of Iran's judiciary, has the discretion to commute
Delara's death sentence and to order a new trial for the young artist, where
exculpatory evidence can be presented. As such, it is extremely important
to voice your objection to the upcoming execution of Delara Darabi. To do
so, please take the following steps:

1. Sign the petition objecting to the impending execution of Delara Darabi.

2. Contact the office of Ayatollah Shahroudi by fax or mail to voice your
objection:

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi*
appeal via the judiciary website: http://iranjudiciary.org/

*Please note that this matter is extremely urgent and requires your
immediate attention. Should you have any questions, please contact
info@SaveDelara.com . For more information, visit:
www.SaveDelara.com

Reza Alinejad's Family and Friends Launch New Website

(1) Reza Alinejad's family and friends have launched a website to provide information, news, and commentary about Reza's case. The website is published in both Farsi and English. Please visit and link to: www.HelpReza.com

Please do not forget to sign the petition demanding a stay of execution for the young boy: http://www.petitiononline.com/RezaA/petition.html

(2)
An Iranian attorney working closely with the cases of Delara Darabi , Reza Alinejad and others, visited Delara Darabi in Rasht prison last week and personally delivered gifts and letters that were sent to Delara from outside of Iran.

According to this source, Delara was quite happy to have received the gifts and about knowing that people around the world care enough to take the time to write to her, send her their well-wishes, and support her struggle for freedom. This individual, who was meeting Delara for the first time in person, was quite taken with Delara's talent as an artist and described her as a truly sensitive girl with a kind disposition.

This source was happy to report that Delara seemed to be feeling much better, physically, than she had been reported to feel a few months ago, after a failed suicide attempt in prison. She is reported to be spending her time more on her studies recently than painting.

In February 2007, human rights lawyer, Lily Mazahery, launched an international letter-writing campaign for Delara Darabi after learning that her gifts and letters to Delara had a visibly positive impact on the fragile artist.

The lawyers working on Delara's case are still awaiting a response from Iran's Supreme Court with respect to their request for a review of Delara's case by a five-judge panel.

For more information on the cases of Delara Darabi, Reza Alinejad, Malak Ghorbany, and other Iranians facing human rights violations, please visit: http://www.savedelara.com/

Please sign the petition objecting to the execution of Delara Darabi , as well as that of Reza Alinejad, and encourage others to do the same. Failure to do so serves as a reaffirmation of their human rights violations.

Delara Darabi and Reza Alinejad

(1) The official website of the SaveDelara!™ campaign is: www.SaveDelara.com

(2) The campaign organizers are also trying to save Reza Alinejad, also on Iran's death row, for killing a man in self defense when he was only 17. Please sign the petition to save Reza from execution as well as the petition for Delara.

Letter from Delara Darabi

This morning, I contacted Ms. Lily Mazahery, the human rights lawyer who is spearheading the Save Delara! campaign, about permission to post the translation of a letter from Delara Darabi, and she was gracious, as always, to grant such permission. The following is the translation of Delara's letter:


For three years, I have searched for answers within the confines of darkness. I need magnanimity without pity or forgiveness other than that which is granted to me by my God. I know that my story must end with forgiveness, yet let us leave aside for the moment that, for three years, I have struggled for my rights to no avail and I have screamed my innocence to ears that are deaf at best.

I believe that creation is born of strained circumstances: strained humanity, strained finances, strained emotions. After all, one learns to paddle for survival only when fear of drowning has set in. I am no exception to this rule.

I do not know which path you have taken to arrive at my paintings. Frankly, it is not important. For I know that it is LOVE that has led you here: love of life, love of humanity, love of belief. These paintings are proof that, even in the darkest confines of human life, there is at least the sensation of safety. After all, one can not remain a prisoner of hopes and dreams.

You, whose friendship I treasure without reason: Do pray for Delaras of far away.

Delara Darabi – Rasht Prison

(Translated from Farsi to English by Lily Mazahery. Posted with the express permission of Ms. Lily Mazahery and the Legal Rights Institute, 2007. ANY UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THIS MATERIAL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED).

You can see a flash slide show of Delara's paintings here.