Execution of a Teenage Girl

Atefeh Rajabi Sahaaleh (Persian: عاطفه رجبی سهاله; 1988–August 15, 2004) was a 16-year-old schoolgirl from the town of Neka, Iran who was executed a week after being sentenced to death by Haji Rezai, head of Neka’s clerical court on charges of adultery and “crimes against chastity”. Rezai, who served as the prosecutor and judge in the case carried out the execution of the teenager himself by placing the noose round Atefeh’s neck before she was hoisted on a crane to her death telling her “This will teach you to disobey!”

The execution is controversial because as a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran promised not to execute anyone under the age of 18. Atefah’s father had passed her birth certificate to the civil authorities, lawyers involved, journalists and Judge Rezai himself but according to a witness “The judge just looked at her body, because of the developed physique…and declared her as 22.” Pursuant to continual complaints filed by Atefeh’s family about her execution and the way the judge mishandled the case, the Supreme Court of Iran issued an order to free Atefeh, only to be three weeks too late.

Atefeh’s mother died in a car accident when she was five. Her father became a drug addict and she was forced to care for her octogenarian grandparents. Despite her attending to their needs they are reported to have completely ignored her. She grew up in the town of Neka, Iran and was described as a “lively and intelligent girl”, who everyone knew, and was often seen wandering free on streets. She was called “gypsy of Neka” by the locals, as she was not restrained in her behaviour, having no parental guidance.

She was arrested three times by the Moral Police and convicted for having sex with unmarried men.On each occasion she was jailed and given 100 lashes. The punishment for sex with married men is far more severe.

On the day she was due to attend a wedding, the Moral Police arrested her as she was preparing dinner for her grandparents. As she had not committed an offense, a petition was presented declaring her a “bad influence”. It was not signed.

She was convicted for ‘crimes against chastity’, based on her admission, obtained through torture, that she had repeatedly had sex with a 51-year-old ex-revolutionary guard turned taxi-driver Ali Darabi, a married man with children, who raped her several times. She kept the relationship, which lasted over three years, a secret from both her family and the authorities. In the court the judge was Haji Rezai. As Atefah realised she was losing her case, she removed her hijab, an act seen as a severe contempt of the court, and argued that Ali Darabi should be punished, not her. She even removed her shoes and hit the judge with them.The judge later sentenced her to death.

Atefeh appealed her conviction. Her family could still not afford a lawyer, and none was provided, in contravention of Iranian law. Although such appeals are usually not resolved within a year, her death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. Haji Rezai, the religious judge, was reportedly so incensed with Atefeh’s “sharp tongue” during the trial that he travelled to Tehran personally to convince the mullahs of the Supreme Court to uphold the death sentence. According to the BBC, the documents presented to the Supreme Court of Appeal described her as a 22-year-old, but her birth certificate and death certificate stated that she was 16. The issue of her age was not brought to proper attention before it was too late.

Amnesty International and a number of other organizations have reported that she suffered from psychological illness, both before and at the trial.

On the day she was due to attend a wedding, the Moral Police arrested her as she was preparing dinner for her grandparents. As she had not committed an offense, a petition was presented declaring her a “bad influence”. It was not signed.

She was convicted for ‘crimes against chastity’, based on her admission, obtained through torture, that she had repeatedly had sex with a 51-year-old ex-revolutionary guard turned taxi-driver Ali Darabi, a married man with children, who raped her several times[1]. She kept the relationship[4], which lasted over three years, a secret from both her family and the authorities. In the court the judge was Haji Rezai. As Atefah realised she was losing her case, she removed her hijab, an act seen as a severe contempt of the court, and argued that Ali Darabi should be punished, not her. She even removed her shoes and hit the judge with them.[5] The judge later sentenced her to death.

Atefeh appealed her conviction. Her family could still not afford a lawyer, and none was provided, in contravention of Iranian law.Although such appeals are usually not resolved within a year, her death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. Haji Rezai, the religious judge, was reportedly so incensed with Atefeh’s “sharp tongue” during the trial that he travelled to Tehran personally to convince the mullahs of the Supreme Court to uphold the death sentence.According to the BBC, the documents presented to the Supreme Court of Appeal described her as a 22-year-old, but her birth certificate and death certificate stated that she was 16. The issue of her age was not brought to proper attention before it was too late.

Amnesty International and a number of other organisations have reported that she suffered from psychological illness, both before and at the trial.

She was publicly hanged from a crane in Neka, Iran, on August 15, 2004. The judge in her case, Haji Rezai, also acted as executioner and applied the noose himself. She was left hanging for 45 minutes. He later boasted that she had been “taught a lesson” for her “sharp tongue”.Her father was not notified of her execution. The next day her body was stolen from her grave. It has never been recovered.

After the execution of Atefeh, Iranian media reported that Judge Rezai and several militia members including Captain Zabihi and Captain Molai were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry. Inside sources informed the media that in addition to the confession of his rape of Atefeh, Judge Rezai who served as judge, jury and executioner, also confessed to torturing her during interrogations to extract names of others she had relations with.He also confessed that to covering up what he and the militia members had done to Atefeh, by speeding up the verdict of execution. Judge Rezai insisted that the verdict and the execution were fully in compliance with the laws of Islam, permitted and sanctioned by the religious authorities.

Amnesty International and many other human rights organizations from the international community declared her killing to be a crime against humanity and against children of the world.

The case of Atefeh Sahaaleh is the subject of a BBC documentary made by Wild Pictures. Director, Monica Garnsey and Associate Producer, Arash Sahami went undercover to document the case. It is also the subject of an hour-long Discovery Times program called “Execution in Iran.”

Sarkozy says burqas are ‘not welcome’ in France

President Nicolas Sarkozy declared Monday that the Islamic burqa is not welcome in France, branding the face-covering, body-length gown as a symbol of subservience that suppresses women’s identities and turns them into “prisoners behind a screen.”

But there was a mixed message in the tough words: an admission that the country’s long-held principle of ethnic assimilation — which insists that newcomers shed their traditions and adapt to French culture — is failing because it doesn’t give immigrants and their French-born children a fair chance.

In a high-profile speech to lawmakers in the historic chateau at Versailles, Sarkozy said the head-to-toe Muslim body coverings were in disaccord with French values — some of the strongest language against burqas from a European leader at a time when some Western officials have been seeking to ease tensions with the Muslim world.

“In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,” Sarkozy said to extended applause of the lawmakers gathered where French kings once held court.

“The burqa is not a religious sign, it’s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement — I want to say it solemnly,” he said. “It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.”

Some Muslim leaders interpret the Quran to require that women wear a headscarf, niqab or burqa in the presence of a man who is not their husband or close relative.

France is home to Western Europe’s largest population of Muslims, estimated at about 5 million. A small but growing group of French women wear burqas and niqabs, which either cloak the entire body or cover everything but the eyes.

Critics fear the issue of full-body coverings, which only involves a tiny minority of French Muslims, could increase discrimination against all Muslims who display their faith in any way.

Dalil Boubakeur, director of the largest Paris mosque, said Sarkozy’s push to keep out the burqa is typical of French culture, but worried that he might inflame tensions with Muslims.

The president wanted to show that “the rules of life in France — and that you can just bring in unjustified traditions,” Boubakeur said.

“But you have to hope — inshallah (God willing) — that there won’t be any ill-feeling, controversies or incidents in this confrontation between an Eastern idea and Western life,” Boubakeur told the AP in a telephone interview. “Or then eastern Muslims will have to return to the Orient … completely unable to assimilate and uncomfortable in a Western system.”

But Sarkozy also said immigrants face economic challenges in France, and the government needs to do more to help them.

“Who doesn’t see that our integration model isn’t working any more?” Sarkozy said. “Instead of producing equality, it produces inequality. Instead of producing cohesion, it creates resentment.”

The unemployment rate for immigrants and their French-born children is higher than the national average. Many children of immigrants complain of discrimination, saying they get passed over for jobs because they have “foreign-sounding” names. Frustration of many children of north African and black immigrants boiled over in France’s three-week wave of riots in 2005.

The burqa comments made up only a few lines of Sarkozy’s speech, which focused on the global economic crisis and a Cabinet shake-up expected to be announced Wednesday. The address was the first by a French president to parliament in 136 years; the last was in 1873 — before lawmakers banned the practice to protect the separation of powers and keep the president in check. That ban was scrapped last year.

In France, the terms “burqa” and “niqab” often are used interchangeably. A burqa is a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan — with only a mesh screen over the eyes. A niqab is a full-body veil, often black, with slits for the eyes.

Muslim groups and government officials say it’s hard to know how many women wear burqas and niqabs in France — though estimated to be at least in the hundreds. They are far less prevalent than simpler Muslim head scarves.

A 2004 law banned wearing the Muslim head scarf at public schools, along with Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses. That law sparked fierce debate both at home and abroad.

In a visit to Normandy earlier this month, President Barack Obama addressed France’s headscarf ban, saying countries handle such issues with their national sensitivities and histories in mind, before adding: “I will tell you that in the United States our basic attitude is, is that we’re not going to tell people what to wear.”

The French government has been divided on a burqa ban. Immigration Minister Eric Besson said a ban would only “create tensions,” while junior minister for human rights Rama Yade said she was open to a ban if it was aimed at protecting women forced to wear the burqa.

The burqa has come under criticism in some parts of Europe. In 2003, Sweden’s National Agency for Education gave schools the right to ban pupils from wearing burqas if it interferes with the teaching or safety regulations.

The Dutch government last year described the burqa and other clothing that covers the face, as “undesirable,” but the ruling coalition stopped short of attempting a ban amid concerns of possible religious discrimination. But the government did say it would work toward banning burqas in schools and among public servants, saying that they stand in the way of good communication.

Later Monday, Sarkozy hosted a state dinner with Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Al Thani of Qatar — a Persian Gulf state where women often wear niqabs. The emir was joined by one of his wives, Sheika Mozah, whose head was covered in an elegant turban.

Courtesy | The Associated Press. All rights reserved.