Ahmad Shaheed, the UN rapporteur on human rights in Iran, has expressed grave concern regarding the trial, alleged confessions and imminent execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari.
On Monday April 14, Shaheed called for a reconsideration of the judicial sentence against the 26-year-old Jabbari.
Jabbari was arrested seven year ago for the murder of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a physician and former employee of the intelligence ministry. Jabbari stabbed Sarbandi at his office after suspecting that he intended to sexually assault her and fled the scene.
Ahmad Shaheed maintains that the murder was indeed self-defence. He notes that if Jabbari’s claims are true, she has been victimized twice, first by her assailant and then by the judicial system.
Jabbari’s death sentence has been approved by the judiciary and its cancellation would require the private complainants to forego their complaint. So far, Sarbandi’s mother and three children have refused to show mercy.
