URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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11 January 2006
UA 11/06 Imminent execution
IRAN: Azam Ghareh Shiran (f), aged around 37
Azam Ghareh Shiran, who was sentenced to death in April 2002
for being an accomplice in the murder of her husband, who had
allegedly forced her into prostitution, could now be executed at
any time, possibly within days. The Head of the Judiciary has the
power to order a stay of execution.
Azam Ghareh Shiran was allegedly forced to marry one of her
father's cousins at the age of 15. She claims that her husband
was a violent unemployed drug addict, who forced her into
prostitution to support the family, and who she feared intended to
also force their nine-year-old eldest daughter into prostitution.
She ran away with her three children in around 1996, after
beginning a relationship with another man, Abbas A, who bought
a house for her. She tried twice to obtain a divorce, without
success.
A year after she left, her husband found her and threatened to
have her convicted of adultery and stoned to death. Azam and
Abbas invited him to dinner, apparently hoping to placate him by
offering him money. Azam put sleeping pills in the soup, to put
her husband and children to sleep, and once he was asleep
Abbas reportedly strangled him. They disposed of the body in a
canal.
Azam was arrested in 1998 after the authorities became
suspicious of her and Abbas, when they tried to obtain a divorce
for her, while claiming to be brother and sister, on the grounds
that her husband had deserted her. Under ''pressure'', Azam
confessed to cooperating with Abbas A in the murder of her
husband. She reportedly made this confession in the belief that it
would mean that Abbas would face lesser charges, and escape
the death penalty. She has since retracted this confession.
Azam was held in Evin prison for two years before she was put
on trial, and had no access to a lawyer until the day her trial
began, when she was assigned one by the court as she could
not afford to hire one herself. In April 2002, she was sentenced
to qisas-e nafs (retribution in kind) for ''being an accomplice to
murder'' (in Persian, mosharekat dar ghatl). As the body was
never found, the cause of death was not established, and the
sleeping pills are not cited in the case file as the cause of death.
Her lawyers have asserted that she should actually have been
charged with ''assisting a murderer'' (in Persian mo-aven dar
ghatl), which carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence.
Azam's death sentence was passed to the Supreme Court for
approval, like all death sentences in Iran. The Supreme Court
found problems with the lower court's proceedings, and referred
the case for re-examination to a lower court, which again passed
the death sentence on 21 July 2004. On 8 November 2004, the
sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. Her lawyers
requested a re-trial, and the execution order was suspended, but
this request was apparently rejected, and so the sentence has
been passed to the body which carries out executions, the Unit
for the Enforcement of Judgements.
Abbas A was also sentenced to death, and his sentence was
upheld by the Supreme Court. Under the Iranian penal code, if a
prisoner is sentenced to qisas-e-nafs, the decision on whether
the death penalty shall be inflicted rests with the victim's blood
relatives. They can forgo their right to qisas and instead request
diyeh (blood-money) or just pardon the culprit. The family of
Azam's husband have reportedly agreed to forgo their right to
retribution and accept blood money from Abbas A. They have
reportedly refused to do so for Azam, and have asked for her to
be executed.
Azam Ghareh Shiran has three children, the youngest of whom
was only a few months old at the time of her arrest. Azam has
now been in prison for seven years, during which her children
have been in government custody. Her eldest daughter married
and assumed custody of her siblings two years ago.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty as the ultimate
cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, in violation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2005, Amnesty
International recorded at least 94 executions in Iran, although the
true figure may be considerably higher.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible:
- urging the authorities to stop the execution of Azam Ghareh
Shiran;
- urging the authorities to commute her death sentence
immediately;
- calling for the case against Azam Ghareh Shiran to be
reviewed urgently, and in particular for the charges against her to
be re-examined;
- expressing concern that Azam Ghareh Shiran was reportedly
detained without trial for two years after her arrest, and did not
have access to a lawyer until the first day of her trial;
- acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to bring
to justice those suspected of criminal offences, 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:
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street
Qom
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 251 7 774 2228 (mark ''FAO the Office of His
Excellency, Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei'')
Email: [email protected] ; [email protected]
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary:
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected] (mark ''Please forward to His
Excellency Ayatollah Shahroudi'') This email
address can be unreliable. If it does not
work, please send your appeal via the
judiciary website:
www.iranjudiciary.org/feedback_en.html
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
President:
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 21 6 649 5880
Email: [email protected]; (via website)
http://www.president.ir/email
Iran does not presently have an embassy in this country.
Instead, please send copies to:
Iranian Interests Section
2209 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
Phone: 202 965 4990
Fax: 202 965 1073
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado
office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time,
weekdays only, if sending appeals after February 22, 2006.
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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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