Delara Darabi suffering from heat strokes in prison, her paintings to human rights lawyer confiscated

When human rights lawyer, Lily Mazahery, who is spearheading an international campaign to save Delara Darabi’s life, spoke to Delara’s mother and sister, Ghazale yesterday, she found both women to be extremely upset. They had visited Delara in prison earlier in the day and were highly concerned about Delara's emotional state.

Fighting back tears, Ghazal stated that Delara is only allowed to have visitors once a week for no more than 20 minutes. Delara is extremely distraught by the limited amount of time that she is allowed to spend with her family. The limitations on visitations are exacerbated by fact that Delara has been unable to call her loved ones by phone, as the prison phone was broken during a recent fight by the prisoners.

Additonally, Mrs. Darabi informed Ms. Mazahery that Delara had put together a notebook of letters, prose, and poetry and paintings that she had painted for Ms. Mazahery. However, the writings and paintings were confiscated by prison officials. Delara had again asked her mother and sister to inform Ms. Mazahery of this, and was extremely upset by the incident. You can read the full report here.

ABOUT DELARA DARABI

20 year old Delara, who has been imprisoned in Rasht, Iran, for the past 3 years, faces imminent risk of execution for a crime that physical evidence reveals she did not commit. Although Delara claimed responsibility for the murder of her father’s cousin immediately after the incident, she later explained that she only made the claim to save her 19 year old boyfriend, Amir-Hussain, who was the one who committed the crime. Amir-Husssain who had drugged Delara prior to the incident in question, had convinced Delara that because she was a minor at the time of the incident, she could not receive a death sentence.

However, in violation of international legal standards, as well as treaties to which Iran is a party, Delara was sentenced to death by public hanging when she was only 17 years old. Her death sentence was issued after a summary hearing, where her initial claim of responsibility was the only piece of “evidence” used by the court to convict her of murder. Delara was not presented by counsel during the hearing.

Delara’s repeated claims of innocence after her initial claim of responsibility have been rejected, and her death sentence has been approved by Iran’s highest court. Her case is in its last stage, as it awaits the order of Iran’s head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, to carry out the execution. Ayatollah Shahroudi has the discretion, however, to order a stay of execution and/or to commute Delara’s sentence altogether.

Delara is a talented pianist, poet, and artist. She has produced an impressive collection of paintings from prison, and has been nicknamed “prisoner of colors.” You can see Delara’s paintings here.

In prison, Delara has suffered from great emotional and physical abuse and difficulty. She suffers from extreme depression, and in January 2007, she attempted to take her own life. Delara's life was saved, however, because her cell-mate noticed what she had done and called for help.

An international campaign has been organized to save Delara Darabi, including a petition demanding a stay of execution and release.

Please visit the official website of the SaveDelara campaign at www.SaveDelara.com for information, news, and updates, and to sign the petition condemning the pending execution of young Delara.

Delara Darabi's father seeks the world's assistance in saving his daughter's life

My daughter, Delara Darabi is accused of a murder she did not commit. Her kind heart led her to accept another’s sin and sully herself in this case. I defend her not because she is my daughter, but because it is defending the truth and the justice that is absent here. I want to see justice prevail, and now, it has been years that my Delara is the victim of those who know nothing about humanity or injustice.

I condemn this treatment of my daughter. I invite everyone who wishes to do so to come and examine this case file and my daughter’s conduct. Let the Islamic human rights organizations come to investigate from Palestine, Lebanon, or any other place that they accept. Let them come to see what they have done with my 17 year old child. Every day, they subject her to a new form of abuse. It has been three years now that she has spent in jail, and now she is 20 years old. Until she was 17, she had not known anything in life other than blessings and kindness. She knows nothing other than pens, books, music, and painting.

Three years ago, when I learned of the incident, I personally turned my daughter in to the authorities and the law; to the very law and judicial system that I now feel, with all of my existence, knows no justice.

Today, my child’s life is in danger not only because she has been sentenced to death, but also because of the treatment that she receives in Rasht’s prison. My child has the right not to be tortured, she has the right to be treated in accordance with civil standards. Yet, here, not even basic rights are observed. She does not receive adequate nutrition. We pay her expenses. Yet, they do not allow us to visit her. Just today that I write this, I and her mother and sisters went to see her, but they found an excuse not to allow us to see her.

I say place my beloved child in a steel cage and keep the key, but do not allow her spirit to be tormented like this. Allow us to protect her ourselves. Allow us to take her notebooks, pens, books, and food, and allow her to paint. She only knows books, notebooks, pens, and art supplies.

In this country where we breathe, there is no sign of justice and I have experienced no justice. I ask those who respect humanity, those with an informed conscience, to help us free Delara. Delara is only one example of thousands who, like Delara, are imprisoned.

My daughter’s life is in danger in prison. Time and time again, I have written letters requesting adequate conditions and standards. I have received negative answers and I have been insulted. I have requested that my daughter be transferred to another prison. Yet they do not pay any credence to this small request. Delara says "in this prison, the acts of walking, eating, painting, speaking, and sleeping by me incite insults and unspeakable reactions. Here, there is one toilet for 200 people, and our objections to these conditions are answered with punishment." Are these conditions tolerable for a 20 year old girl?

We are not allowed to take her any food, and during our last visit with Delara, she refrained from kissing her mother, saying that the place is full of germs and she could not bring herself to expose us to the diseases that she may have contracted. Seeing these conditions and hearing the news of inhumane treatment of my daughter has left me without sleep at night.
I, Delara Darabi’s father, have wasted three years of my life. I have abandoned my life and livelihood so that I can work on her case in search of justice, rights, and defense of humanity. Please help me, and help us, in our search. For here, there is no sign of justice or humanity.

Please sign the petition to save Delara Darabi's life:

www.petitiononline.com/DL2222/petition.html

www.SaveDelara.com

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.