The head of the Tehran Justice Department has announced that the file of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a woman sentenced to death for the murder of her attacker, is in the process of mediation.
Gholmahossein Esmaili told the Etemad daily on Saturday October 11 that they are in the process of mediating with the family of the deceased and are hopeful to get their consent to forego Qesas. Iranian Sharia law gives the family of a murder victim the opportunity to forgive the perpetrator, in which case they will not be hanged.
Esmaili said if the family agrees, then the Qesas sentence can be cancelled, but otherwise it has to be carried out.
Reyhaneh Jabbari, 26, was arrested seven years ago for murdering the 47-year-old Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi. She argued in her defence that the victim had attempted to assault her.
The Shargh daily published a message from Jabbari today in which she pleads with the Sarbandi family to forgive her and forego the Qesas sentence.
