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.

Lead Counsel for Delara Darabi Files Official Objection to Sentence of Death

From the Legal Rights Institute:

Delara's lead counsel, Mr. Khormshahi has filed the official petition objecting to the issuance of death sentence to Delara Darabi.

According to Mr. Khormshai, in the last days of Supreme Court's current session, the proper legal filings were made. Khormshahi explained: "In the next few days, we should know which branch of the Court will be reviewing our motion and will rule on the motion to vacate Delara's death sentence."

Khormshai went on to explain that he is hopeful that this time 5 experienced judges will preside over the case and, based on clear and convincing evidence, they will vacate Delara's death sentence.

Address for Letters to Delara Darabi

On Tuesday, February 20, 2007, Lily Mazahery, the human rights lawyer who is spearheading the international campaign to save the life of Delara Darabi, spoke with Abdolsamad Khormshahi, Delara's lead counsel. The following is a letter that Ms. Mazahery sent to those who had signed the petition objecting to Delara's execution, including myself.

Those interested in sending letters to Delara Darabi should forward them to the following address:

Lily Mazahery (For Delara)
14 Bond St.
Suite 800
Great Nech, NY 11021

Delara knows a little bit of English, but letters will be translated to Farsi and the translation will be sent along with the original.

Also, there have been some reports that Delara is scheduled to be executed in a month. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE as are reports that Delara has been so shocked by the news that Iran's supreme court has upheld her death sentence that she has stopped speaking!

Here's is the text of letter from Lily Mazahery:

I spoke to Delara's lawyer, Mr. Khormshahi. He informed me that Delara's blood test results are still not in, but that he and Delara's father had requested a complete physical for Delara, because she has grown so thin and anemic. The news of the arrival of Iran's Supreme Court's decree of approval of Delara's death sentence has served as yet another blow to the naturally sensitive artist.

Mr. Khormshahi explained that in all the years that he has practiced law, he has never come across any one like Delara. He emphasized that unlike other individuals who had been in the news for committing crimes as minors, such as Nazanin Fatehi, Delara did not kill anyone. Delara's father describes Delara as a truly gentle soul who can not bear the suffering or unhappiness of anyone around her. When Delara's sisters would find themselves facing punishment for something they should not have done, Delara would routinely attempt to take responsibility for their actions, and would ask her parents to punish her instead. When Delara claimed responsibility for the murder of Mahin, she was, once again, trying to save a loved one – this time her boyfriend Amir – from facing the punishment that he was certain to receive. Amir had convinced Delara that because she was only 17 at the time of the murder, she could not be punished if she claimed responsibility. When Delara realized that Amir had lied to her, it was too late: She was already in jail for murder and faced execution.

Delara feels broken and betrayed. Despite her repeated claims of innocence and despite forensic evidence showing that the petite artist, poet, and pianist could not have been the murderer, the trial court sentenced her to death by hanging. Iran's Supreme Court has upheld that ruling.

In addition to facing execution for a crime that she never committed, Delara has had a difficult time dealing with the fact that the boy she loved and for whom she sacrificed so much has refused to admit to his role in the crime. Amir's silence about the events of the night of Mahin's murder has secured him a 10 year prison sentence instead of capital punishment. Delara, on the other hand, is haunted by images of death on a nightly basis and suffers from extreme depression. In January 2007, she attempted to take her own life in prison.

Delara's lawyer informed me that the one thing that has brought some joy and a smile to Delara's face recently is the news that someone in a land far away was thinking about her and had sent her presents. He asked me to continue sending her letters, books, and painting supplies, since -- true to her sensitive nature as an artist -- Delara loves beautiful things and words and finds comfort in knowing that she is loved by someone, somewhere.

Delara misses music. She misses playing the piano. She spends her days writing poetry, reading books, and, if she feels well enough, she paints.

In prison, Delara is loved by her prison mates. Her kindness and soft heart has touched all who have come into contact with her. Her lawyer tells me that not a week can go by without a call from Delara asking him to please help her prison mates, often offering to trade her own representation for them. It was not difficult to notice that, like everyone else who comes into contact with the young artist, Mr. Khormshahi is also affected by the gentle soul that is Delara Darabi.

Mr. Khormshahi asked me to continue spreading the word about Delara's case and to ask all those who care to keep the innocent girl-child in their prayers. He asked me to emphasize that Delara is truly innocent, that all the evidence shows that the left-handed, petite girl who was drugged by Amir before entering Mahin's home, could not have possibly been the murderer. And he vowed to do all that is possible under the law to, at the very least, obtain a new trial for the teenage prisoner, where he can present the evidence in her case file and introduce the expert and forensic testimony that was absent during Delara's initial "trial."

Please continue to speak out about the injustice to which young Delara has been subjected. Please sign the petition objecting to her execution and ask your family, friends, co-workers, members of your church, school, and community to do the same. Please keep young Delara Darabi in your thoughts and prayers. Please keep Delara in your hearts.

Warm regards,

Lily Mazahery, Esq.
President
Legal Rights Institute
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INFORMATION ON DELARA DARABI AND HER CASE:

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN (IRI)

Delara Darabi, aged 19, child offenderDelara Darabi, aged 19, is at risk of execution for a murder which took place when she was 17 years old. She denies committing the crime.

Iran is a state party to international treaties that expressly prohibit the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by those under the age of 18.

According to reports in the Persian language news service Aftab, Delara Darabi and a 19-year-old man named Amir Hossein broke into a woman's house to commit a burglary. Amir Hossein allegedly killed the woman during the burglary. Delara Darabi initially confessed to the murder, but has since retracted her confession. She claims that Amir Hossein asked her to admit responsibility for the murder to protect him from execution, believing that as she was under the age of 18, she could not be sentenced to death. Delara Darabi was sentenced to death by a lower court in the northern city of Rasht. The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court and the official decree was received yesterday (Februrary 16, 2007). As such, Delara moves closer to execution.

She maintains her innocence, and has claimed that she took responsiblity for the crime to save the life of her boyfriend.

At this stage, the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, has the power to order a stay of execution and issue a new trial for Delara, where substantial forensic evidence and expert testimony can prove that Delara could not have possibly been the murderer. Amir Hossein has reportedly received a prison sentence of 10 years for his involvement in the crime.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

As a state party to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Islamic Republic has undertaken not to execute anyone for an offence committed when they were under the age of 18. Nevertheless, since 1990, the IRI has executed at least 18 people for crimes committed when they were children.

In 2005 alone, despite being urged in January by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to suspend the practice immediately, at least eight child offenders were executed, including two who were still under 18 at the time of their execution. The last recorded execution of a child offender, Rostam Tajik, was on December 10, 2005 - ironically, the day which the UN has marked annually as Human Rights Day. On December 9, 2005, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, called on the Iranian authorities not to proceed with the execution of Rostam Tajik, stating: "At a time when virtually every other country in the world has firmly and clearly renounced the execution of people for crimes they committed as children, the Iranian approach is particularly unacceptable … It is all the more surprising because the obligation to refrain from such executions is not only clear and incontrovertible, but the Government of Iran has itself stated that it will cease this practice."

For the last five years, the IRI has been considering legislation to prohibit this practice, but despite this, over the past two and half years the number of child offenders executed has increased. Recent comments by a judiciary spokesperson suggest that the new law would in any case only prohibit the death penalty for certain crimes when committed by children.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, English, or your own language:

• urging the authorities to commute the death sentence imposed on Delara Darabi immediately;


• reminding the authorities of their commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that "sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age";


• asking for details of her trial and any appeals;


• expressing concern at reports that Delara Darabi confessed to the murder in order to protect her co-accused;


• calling on the authorities of the IRI to implement the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, which, in January 2005 called on the Islamic regime to "immediately suspend the execution of all death penalties imposed on persons for having committed a crime before the age of 18, and to abolish the death penalty as a sentence imposed on persons for having committed crimes before the age of 18, as required by article 37 of the Convention";


• acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences such as murder, but stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life.

APPEALS TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader,
Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 251 7 774 2228
(mark "FAO the Office of His Excellency, Ayatollah Khamenei")
Email: info@leader.irhttp://blog.myspace.com/istiftaa@wilayah.org

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Please note that Ayatollah Shahroudi DOES NOT USE EMAIL. Please send your appeal via the judiciary website: http://iranjudiciary.org/

COPIES TO:

Speaker of Parliament
Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye EslamiImam
Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746

and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

*** PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY ***

Additionally, if you have not done so already, PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION to save Delara from execution.

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RELEVANT LINKS:

Amnesty International:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130012006?open&of=ENG-392

Dead Woman Painting (Guardian, U.K): http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1931227,00.html

Flash presentation of paintings by Delara Darabi: http://www.womeniniran.net/EG/delara/delarasiteEn.html

Delara Darabi, teenager on death row faces abuse in prison, International Campaign Against Honor Killings:
http://www.stophonourkillings.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=985

Delara's Death Sentence Upheld by Iran's Supreme Court (Text of Lily Mazahery's speech), Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organization:
http://www.ikwro.org.uk/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=89

Delara Darabi -- Teenage Artist on Death Row Needs Our Help!

I received the following powerful and beautifully-written letter by prominent human rights lawyer, Lily Mazahery about a young Iranian girl on death row. Delara Darabi was only 17 year old when she was sentenced to death by hanging for a crime that all evidence shows she could not have committed. She is a victim of a brutal regime's disregard for the basic rights of its own children, as well as its obligations under international law. Please take a moment to read this moving letter and lend your voice to Delara's cause by signing the petition that has been set up to save her life.


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Dear friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I write these words: Yet another innocent Iranian girl faces imminent risk of execution by the Islamic regime for a crime that she never committed.

On Saturday, January 27, 2007, Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Delara Darabi for a second time. Delara, who is now 20 years old, faces death by public hanging for a murder that took place when she was 17 years old. According to newspaper and court reports, after murdering a woman related to Delara, Delara’s 19 year old boyfriend, Amir Hossein, convinced Delara to admit responsibility for the murder to protect him from execution. Apparently, both teenagers believed that because Delara was under the age of 18, she could not be sentenced to death. This belief proved to be devastatingly false.

With complete disregard for its obligations under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and despite overwhelming evidence of Delara’s innocence, as well as the teenager’s repeated denials about having had any role in the commission of the crime, a court in the city of Rasht found the girl-child guilty of murder based solely on her initial claim of responsibility and sentenced her to death by hanging. Since that ruling, the Islamic regime has repeatedly demonstrated patent disregard for its promises to the international community and to the rights of Iranian children by upholding Delara’s death sentence.

Until recently, Delara had proven to be a remarkably poised young prisoner with an amazing talent for painting and drawing. She had used her gift to compile a diary of her pain as a child prisoner on death row. From the dark confines of her prison cell, Delara produced an impressive collection of paintings that speak of the horrors of prison, of torture, of beatings, of hopelessness, loneliness, and the loss of a child’s innocence. They are haunting images of injustice and brutality. They are the stories of the innocent women and children of Iran, shackled by the injustices of a brutal regime. They are a teenager’s diary of crimes against humanity committed by the very government that should serve as her protector, but is, instead, her jailer and her executioner.

And in retaliation to exposing their horrifying crimes, the officials of the Islamic regime took away the only remaining outlet of Delara’s pain: They confiscated her painting materials. When Delara used coal and whatever else she could find to paint her pain on the walls of her prison, they subjected the young artist -- nicknamed “prisoner of colors” -- to brutal forms of emotional and physical abuse: They banned her from painting altogether, and they prevented her from having any visitors or contacting her lawyer except for twice a month briefly by phone. Their abuse proved too much for young Delara, who, true to her sensitive disposition as an artist, wears her pain woefully close to the surface of her skin.

On January 20, 2007, Delara attempted suicide by cutting her wrists.

Fortunately, her cell-mate noticed the incident and called for help. Delara’s emaciated body was rushed to the hospital, where, by what can only be deemed a miracle, doctors were able to revive her and bring her back to life. As of the date of this letter, Delara remains in critical condition and weighs only 35 kilos. Her family and those close to her case are extremely worried about her health, both physically and emotionally.

The silent screams of innocent girls like Delara must be acknowledged by each and every one of us. We MUST express our outrage, voice our anger, and show our support to those who can not speak for themselves. Anything less would be less than human, less than American, and most certainly, less than Persian. As humans with a conscious and a heart, we owe this to young Delara and to every innocent life that is subjected to the brutalities of an evil regime. We owe this to the daughters of Cyrus the Great. We owe this to humanity.

Please express your outrage and stand up for the rights of a girl-child who can not stand up for herself by signing this petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/DL2222/petition.html

YOUR SILENCE ONLY SERVES AS A REINFORCEMENT OF DELARA’S DEATH SENTENCE.

Regards,

Lily Mazahery, Esq.

President

Legal Rights Institute

Hindu Girl Forcibly Converted to Islam After Abduction

PAKISTAN: Another Hindu girl forcibly converted to Islam after being abducted

PAKISTAN: Forced conversion of religion; illegal minor marriage; no protection for religious minorities; abduction; particularity of the judiciary and local administration on the violation of the religious minority's rights; impunity; un-rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) received the information that a 17-year-old Hindu girl, Deepa has been missing since she was abducted by her Muslim tuition teacher on 31 December 2006. It is alleged that she was forcibly converted to Muslim and married to the said teacher. It is also reported that the local police and politicians are preventing the girl's family from lodging a complaint with the police station regarding the incident, as influential local figures are behind this incident. The AHRC notes with great concern that abducting young girls from religious minorities and forcibly converting them to Islam are a common feature in Pakistan. These crimes are being committed without hindrance due to the indifference of the local authorities.

CASE DETAILS:

Seventeen-year-old Deepa is the daughter of Mr. Besham Das and a resident of Madhwani Mohala, Rail road, Islam Kot, Tharparkar district, Sindh province, Pakistan. After her matriculation, Deepa was having tuition with a teacher namely Mr. Ashraf Khaskheli, a young Muslim man who is also a seminary teacher at Madrasa Khanqah Gulzar-e-Khalil, Samaro town, Tharparkar district.

On 31 December 2006, Deepa left her house to have tuition and failed to return. At 7:00pm in the evening her parents went to Mr. Ashraf's house to inquire about their daughter. They were told that Mr. Ashraf had taken her to the Khanqah Gulzar-e-Khalil Madressa seminary in Samaro town and married her after converting her to Islam. Deepa remains missing since then.

It is alleged that the owner of the seminary Mr. Ayube Jan Sarhandi has provided shelter to Mr. Ashraf and Deepa. When he was contacted by the AHRC staff, Mr. Ayube Jan Sarhandi said that Mr. Ashraf came to him with Deepa in the late evening of December 31 and he converted Deepa to Islam because she had agreed. He then issued a certificate of his seminary that Deepa has become Muslim and provided a car for their safe journey to place of their own choice.

Tharparker district is the electoral constituency of the sitting chief minister of Sindh province and Mr. Ayube Jan Sarhandi is an influential man in the province as he has good political connections with government officials.

However, Deepa's parents and the local Hindu community worry that Deepa might have been forced to converted to Islam and married Mr. Ashraf after being abducted because this is a common situation in the area. The girl's parents and neighbors also say that they did not see any sign that there had been a love affair between Deepa and Mr. Ashraf. They further argue that if Deepa had married Mr. Ashraf voluntarily he could have brought Deepa to his house quite openly. However, instead her whereabouts are unknown to date. They also argue that marriage of a minor is still illegal according to law.

According to Hindu religious community in Tharparkar district where a good population of the Hindu religious community resides some Muslim seminaries in the district are provoking young Muslims to convert Hindu girls to Islam as it is equal to Haj-e-Akbari, the highest Islamic religious duty. Mr. Amar Nath, the president of Hindu Panchayat, Karachi, also reported that more than 15 families are forcibly converted to Muslims in Sindh province every year through kidnapping Hindu young girls. By converting them to Islam the abductors are rewarded with marriage to the kidnapped girls.

Meanwhile, the Banay police have refused to register the complaint regarding this case allegedly because powerful persons are involved. Instead of taking action against Mr. Ashraf according to law, Mr. Arbab Zakaullah, the uncle of the chief minister of the Sindh province and Mr. Kishan Chand, the advisor to the chief minister on minority affairs also requested Deepa's family not to lodge the case of abduction and forced conversion of the religion against Mr. Ashraf with the police. They promised that they would try their best to obtain Deepa's release. As a result, the case has not been registered with the police.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

It has become a common practice in Pakistan that some Muslim seminaries are encouraging the young men to convert non Muslim minorities to Islam. The young people generally kidnap the young girls of non Muslims and rape them. In cases where they are later arrested by the police, they produce a certificate issued by any Muslim seminary that the kidnapped girls have adopted Islam and that they married the girls. Many of these girls are minor. However, the courts generally do not consider this fact and simply accept the certificate as legitimate.

For example, a 15-year-old Pooja living in Chaki Wara, Lyari town, Karachi was abducted by two Muslim men namely Mr. Iqbal and Arshad with the help of Mr. Iqbal's sister on 23 July 2006. A First Investigation Report (FIR) number 232/2006 was lodged at the Chakiwara police station on July 25 and she was found on the same day. The medical examination, which was conducted on July 27, revealed that Pooja was raped. But on July 27 a certificate issued by a seminary called Darul Amjadia was produced before the court of the 10th Judicial Magistrate, Karachi declaring that the girl has converted to Islam. On December 19, the court accepted the certificate and released Pooja from jail and did not allow her family to take her. As soon as she was released, Pooja was kidnapped again by the same persons and her whereabouts remain unknown. The court also did not consider that Pooja is a minor. According to Pakistani laws, marriage of a girl below 18 years is prohibited and particularly Section 2 of Juvenile ordinance 2002 states that a person below 18 years is considered a child.

In another case, a 16-year-old Hindu Komal living in Hawks bay, Karachi was abducted 2 August 2006 and forcibly converted to Islam. She remains missing since then. The victim's lawyer Mr. Amar Nath, who is the president of Hindu Panchayat Karachi, says that the Hawks Bay police have been refusing to register the complaint regarding this case allegedly because the powerful seminary is behind the abductors.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please immediately write to the relevant authorities listed below and urge them to launch an immediate and full inquiry into this serious case. Please also urge them to locate the victim and ensure that she is released without further delay and take action against the alleged abductors. Please also the Government of Pakistan to take genuine action to prohibit such brutal practice against the religious minorities and protect the rights of children.

To support this appeal, please click HERE.

Save A Life -- Malak Ghorbany, woman sentenced to death by stoning

I thought it would be highly appropriate to start this blog with the following plea to save an innocent life. Read on...

Dear friends,

Once again, another Iranian woman has been sentenced to death by the barbaric practice of public stoning. On June 28, 2006, a court in the northwestern Iranian city of Urmia sentenced Malak Ghorbany to death for committing "adultery." Under Iran's Penal Code, the term "adultery" is used to describe any intimate or sexual act between a man and a girl/woman who are not married. The crime of adultery is also used in cases where a girl is deemed to have committed "acts incompatible with chastity," which includes instances of rape. The punishment for "adultery" is death.

On the day of her punishment, the woman's hands are tied behind her back as she becomes covered from head to toe in winding sheets and is placed seated in a pit. The pit is then filled up to her chest with dirt and the dirt is tamped down. At that point, members of the community are invited to murder her by hurling rocks at her. However, to ensure that the condemned woman/girl receives the absolute maximum amount of pain and torture, the Iranian government has even mandated the size of the stones that are to be used in this barbaric act of public execution. By law, the stones must not be too small as to prevent ultimate death, nor must they be too large that they could cause the girl's death "too soon."

The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights of Iranian Kurdistan has issued a statement to save the life of Malak Ghorbany, and I have initiated a petition, directed to members of the United Nations, Amnesty International, the ruling clerics in Iran, and various other organizations and entities around the world to oppose Malak's barbaric sentence. I need you to help me save Malak's life, as we did with the 17 year old Nazanin, by signing the petition and raising as much awareness as possible to her case. Without significant international pressure and expressions of outrage at the atrocities committed by the Isalmic regime, Iranians will continue to be subjected to medieval practices that violate the most basic rights of humans.

I thank you for your support, friendship, and kindness, and I look forward to a day when no woman is abused, tortured, or murdered simply because of her gender.

Fondly,

Lily Mazahery
President
Legal Rights Institute

The direct link to Saving Malak's Life is: http://www.petitiononline.com/Malak/petition.html