From Iran Focus: Girl, 16, hanged in public in Iran. (Via Little Green Footballs)
On Sunday, August 15, a 16-year-old girl in the town of Neka, northern Iran, was executed. Ateqeh Sahaleh was hanged in public on Simetry Street off Rah Ahan Street at the city center. The sentence was issued by the head of Neka’s Justice Department and subsequently upheld by the mullahs’ Supreme Court and carried out with the approval of Judiciary Chief Mahmoud Shahroudi.In her summary trial, the teenage victim did not have any lawyer and efforts by her family to recruit a lawyer was to no avail. Ateqeh personally defended herself. She told the religious judge, Haji Rezaii, that he should punish the main perpetrators of moral corruption not the victims.
The judge personally pursued Ateqeh’s death sentence, beyond all normal procedures and finally gained the approval of the Supreme Court. After her execution Rezai said her punishment was not execution but he had her executed for her "sharp tongue". [Emphasis added]
'Free Iran' News has translated from Farsi another article:
The animosity and anger of [local judge] Haji Reza was so strong that he personally put the rope around the girl's delicate neck and personally gave the signal to the crane operator, by raising his hand, to begin pulling the rope.
And Iran-Va-Jahan reports that Amnesty International has issued a statement on the execution of Ateqeh Sahaleh.
UPDATE August 30: This cartoon appeared in the Sunday, August 29th edition of The Washington Times.
Posted by Forkum at August 23, 2004 11:24 PM
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