An Iranian woman, Reyhaneh Jabbari, convicted of murder in a killing that human rights groups called self-defense against a rapist was hanged Saturday. This was reported by the state news agency and so far, very little condemnation by the international community or world press has followed. Does this travesty of justice deserve any less media attention or public scorn than the gruesome ISIS beheadings of several men a few weeks back?
Jabbari was arrested in 2007 and tried for the murder of former Iranian intelligence officer and doctor Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi. After what Amnesty International described as "deeply flawed investigation and trial,” the Tehran criminal court found her guilty and sentenced the 26-year old woman to death. The court had denied all of her appeals.
The United Nations has said she never received a fair trial. The U.S. State Department also said there were concerns about the trial. Back in April, Ahmed Shaheed, the UN's human rights observer on Iran, said that Sarbandi had offered to hire Jabbari to redesign his office and took her to an apartment where he sexually assaulted her.
During the trial, Jabbari said she had stabbed Sarbandi in the back only after he tried to sexually assault her. She then said another man who was in the house at the time was responsible for Sarbandi’s death, according to Al Jazeera. Many human rights organizations said Jabbari’s claims were not properly investigated prior to her sentencing. Jabbari was reportedly placed in solitary confinement for two months after she was arrested and was repeatedly prevented from meeting with her lawyer or family regularly.
Reyhaneh Jabbari was a 19-year old girl who tried to protect herself, perhaps her virginity against a violent rapist. Her death serves no purpose other than to underscore the painful reality that women still lack full equality and the ability to defend themselves in many parts of the world community. And for that, the international community should be outraged, ashamed, and determined to right a wrong that has existed for centuries.
Duchy Trachtenberg, MSW served on the Montgomery County (Maryland) Council 2006-2010. Ms. Trachtenberg led the effort to create the first Family Justice Center in her community and has been recognized by numerous health policy organizations such as NAMI, NARAL, and the Our Bodies, Ourselves Health Collective. At the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting in November 2014, she will be awarded the first annual Trachtenberg Leadership Award for her commitment to public health and an integrative health care system approach. Ms. Trachtenberg currently sits on the board of the National Center for Health Research.