Jan. 14
IRAN:
On death row for killing rapist, she'll be freed for $100,000
She was sentenced to death for killing a police chief as he raped her at a
resort.
But now Iranian mother-of-two Afsaneh Nowrouzi is set to be freed.
The officer's family has agreed to accept US$62,500 ($102,000) in cash
compensation in lieu of their right under Iranian law to insist she be put
to death.
The deal ends a 7-year legal wrangle that sparked outrage among women's
activists both within Iran and around the world.
Nowrouzi, now 34, stabbed Moghaddam to death in 1997. She also cut off his
penis and placed it on his chest.
She claimed she was defending herself as Moghaddam raped her.
At the time, Moghaddam was the police chief on the tourist island of Kish.
In Iran, a married woman who is raped can be convicted of adultery and
sentenced to death. If she kills the rapist, she can be tried for murder
and sentenced to death.
The Kish court rejected Nowrouzi's self-defence claim and sentenced her to
death in 2001, sparking international outcry.
In response, Iran's head judge, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi,
ordered an indefinite stay of that verdict last year.
Judiciary officials then urged Moghaddam's mother and his two children to
show mercy to Nowrouzi - which Nowrouzi's lawyer said she would never ask
for.
DIDN'T WANT MERCY
'The victim's family members did a good thing... despite my client's
refusal to request mercy,' Mr Abdolsamad Khorramshahi said.
Under Iranian law, the death penalty is waived once the victim's family
agrees to a cash settlement. Nowrouzi will be freed soon.
Prominent activist Sara Irani commented: 'Nowrouzi's freedom will give new
breath to women to find the courage to stand up for their rights and
defend themselves.'
(source: Associated Press)
