Atefeh Rajabi Sahaaleh Hanged In Iran At Age 16 For The Crime Of Being R*Ped

Atefeh Rajabi Sahaaleh Hanged In Iran At Age 16 For The Crime Of Being R*Ped

Atefeh Rajabi Sahaaleh (Persian: عاطفه رجبی سهاله; September 21, 1987 – August 15, 2004) was an Iranian girl from the town of Neka, who was executed a week after being sentenced to death by Haji Rezai, head of Neka’s court, on charges of adultery and crimes against chastity after being repeatedly raped.

Just 30 years before, Iran was a country with Western ideals

A 16-year-old girl who had been arrested three times in the course of one year, on charges of “Non-Muhsan Zina”, and was sentenced to 100 lashes each time, was sentenced to be hanged in public after her fourth arrest.

Arrest and detention

The town of Neka police officers arrested Ms. Sahaleh in May 2004, at her grandfather’s home. On April 25, 2003, Neka law enforcement officials received unsigned reports against Ms. Sahaleh which were said to be from the people living in the neighborhood. A few days later, following her grandfather lodging a complaint against her, a judicial official issued a warrant for Ms. Sahaleh’s arrest. After her arrest, the agents proceeded to search the home and arrested another young girl who was in the house at the time, along with Ms. Sahaleh. Two men, who, according to Ms. Sahaleh, had relations with her were arrested and questioned as well. (Iran newspaper).

Ms. Sahaleh was arrested on the basis of unsigned local reports and her grandfather’s complaint.

Ms. Sahaleh’s father announced in an interview that during the three months Ms. Sahaleh was in detention, he only visited with her for 10 minutes. (Mazandnume).

There is no information regarding other details of Ms. Sahaleh’s arrest and detention.

Trial

The town of Neka General Court Branch One tried Ms. Sahaleh. Since Ms. Sahaleh could not afford to hire an attorney, she was assigned a court-appointed one. There is no information about the trial session(s).

Evidence of guilt

The Town of Neka General Court Branch One judge cited a complaint lodged by Ms. Sahaleh’s grandfather and unsigned reports from several neighborhood residents alleging that “a young girl in this neighborhood has engaged in corruption and prostitution, and has immoral relations with a number of individuals” as evidence for Ms. Sahaleh’s arrest and prosecution. Pursuant to the judge’s order, an inquiry was made with Behshahr Prison regarding Ms. Sahaleh’s record, which showed that she had a record of imprisonment in 2000-01. (Iran newspaper, Mazandnume).

Judiciary officials declared Ms. Sahaleh’s age to be 22 when she was actually only 16 years old.

According to the family’s statements and to affidavits from neighborhood residents, Ms. Sahaleh suffered from mental health issues.

Logic

The adjudication of Ms. Sahaleh’s case took only 105 days from the time of her arrest until the sentence was carried out.

Judgement Day

At the gallows, at the moment she was about to be hanged, Ms. Sahaleh told the judge who had issued the sentence: “If you forgive me, I will never look into the eyes of a stranger as long as I live.”

MORE NOTES

[1] “Zina” is sexual relations between a man and a woman who are strangers to each other (outside the bonds of marriage), and, pursuant to the Islamic Penal Code, consists of two situations:

    1. Muhsen Zina (the equivalent of “adultery”) (the person who commits Zina is a man who has a permanent wife and has the possibility of having sexual relations with her) or Muhsena Zina (the person who commits Zina is a woman who has a permanent husband and has the possibility of having sexual relations with him);

    2. Non-Muhsen Zina (the equivalent of “fornication”, i.e. consensual sexual intercourse between a man and a woman not married to each other) (the person who commits Zina is a man who does not have a permanent wife) or Non-Muhsena Zina (the person who commits Zina is a woman who does not have a permanent husband).

The Hadd punishment for Muhsen or Muhsena Zina is death by stoning, and the Hadd punishment for Non-Muhsin or Non-Muhsina Zina is 100 lashes.

[2] These regulations include:

    1. Special Police for Juvenile Offenders (Article 31 of the Law on the Rules of Criminal Procedure): In order for law enforcement officers to properly carry out their duties regarding juveniles, a Special Police for Juvenile Offenders is hereby established within  the Islamic Republic of Iran Police Force…

    2. Opening a character profile on the juvenile (Article 286 of the Law on the Rules of Criminal Procedure): [In crimes the punishment for which is death, …], it is mandatory for the prosecutor’s office or the Juvenile Court to open a character profile for the juvenile offender.

    3. The mandatory nature of the presence of an advisor in juvenile proceedings (Article 298 of the Law on the Rules of Criminal Procedure): Juvenile Court shall convene with a judge and an advisor present.

[3] In the Islamic Penal Code, the means of proving Zina have been defined as follows:

    (1) Confession (the person who has committed Zina (who must be an adult, of sound mind, and independent) must confess four times before the judge); and

    (2) Testimony (the testimony of four just men, or three just men and two just women, is necessary).