Nobel Prize laureate Ebadi: execution was warning

RNW, 16 February 2011, by RNW News Desk

(Photo: ANP)

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi believes the execution of Dutch-Iranian Zahra Bahrami was intended as a warning to the opposition. Ms Ebadi told Radio Netherlands Worldwide: “This was actually a warning: if you take to the streets, this could also happen to you.” She said the execution was illegal because of due process violations.

Zahra Bahrami was arrested during a 2009 protest against the Iranian regime. In the interview with RNW, human rights lawyer Ebadi says Bahrami’s execution was a clear signal to protesters that the authorities will do anything necessary to squash the demonstrations.

Due process of law

Ms Ebadi points out that Iran violated its own laws and procedures. Zahra Bahrami was charged with two different crimes: taken part in a banned protest and the possession of drugs. The trial for taking part in a banned demonstration was never held, and the trial for the possession of drugs violated due process of law. For example, the Dutch-Iranian woman was not allowed to retain a lawyer.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate says that according to Iranian law, a death sentence must be submitted to a board of appeal, but in this case the execution was carried out before the board had handed down its ruling. Ms Ebadi also has doubts about the drugs charges:

“Bahrami was arrested during a demonstration. The charges for the possession of drugs were not brought until three days later, after her home had been searched. If she had been in the possession of drugs, her friends or relatives would have disposed of them by that time, wouldn’t they?

Dutch protests

The human rights lawyer says the Netherlands had every reason to freeze diplomatic relations with Iran. One day before the execution, the Iranian embassy in The Hague stated that Bahrami’s file was still open. Ms Ebadi also points to the fact that the Dutch ambassador was not allowed to visit Bahrami in prison. “Dutch lawyers were not allowed to assist Bahrami, so it was very natural for the Dutch government to object to this state of affairs.”

Ms Ebadi rejects the Iranian argument that the Netherlands was interfering in its internal affairs:

“A fair trial is a fundamental human right, which transcends international boundaries. On top of which, Tehran also issues statements on human rights violation in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan. The Netherlands has the same right to speak out on the human rights situation in Iran, for instance by protesting against the unfair trial of Bahrami.”

In the interview with RNW, Shirin Ebadi also pointed to similarities between the Bahrami trial and many other criminal trials in Iran. She points to the case of Iranian lawyer Nasser Zarafshan. When he was arrested, security officers accompanied him to his office where they said they found a gun.

Something similar happened to another lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, who used to work with Shirin Ebadi at the Centre for the Defence of Human Rights. Security officers raided his office and later said they had found a gun and drugs. According to Ms Ebadi, he was tortured for two months. The security service wanted the lawyer to admit the gun was his, and that it had been bought with money he allegedly received from Ebadi. The Iranian police say it was the same gun that killed Iranian demonstrator Neda Agha Sultan in 2009. A video of the young women lying in the street while she bled to death went viral after it was posted on the YouTube website.

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