Reyhaneh Jabari

Case record

Reyhaneh Jabari was an Iranian woman born around 1988 who was convicted of murdering Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former employee of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry. She had been in prison since 2007 and, as of 2014, was awaiting execution by hanging for killing her alleged rapist in self-defense.

Jalal Sarbandi, Sarbandi’s son, offered her the option of avoiding the execution of the sentence under certain circumstances. Those circumstances would have required her to expose her “true intentions” and tell the truth about her accomplice and what had really happened. Reyhaneh Jabbari had refused to reveal the identity of a third party who was present in the apartment where Sarbandi was stabbed.

Background

Reyhaneh Jabbari was described as a decorator and interior decorator in Iran. She maintained that Sarbandi drugged her and tried to rape her after they met at a café and she agreed to go to his office to discuss a business deal.

The offence

Reyhaneh Jabbari met Sarbandi in the context of discussing work related to redesigning or decorating an office or apartment. She agreed to proposals for decoration, and the arrangement led to her being taken to an apartment where Sarbandi confronted her.

During the incident, a fight ensued. Reyhaneh Jabari stabbed Sarbandi with a knife. Sarbandi died due to heavy bleeding after being stabbed in the shoulder. After the stabbing, Reyhaneh Jabari fled and managed to get home later that night.

Investigation and evidence

Sarbandi stopped at a pharmacy on the way to the meeting or appointment, and it was later discovered that he bought condoms. When the group arrived at the apartment, the apartment appeared dusty as though no one had lived there for a long time.

A plastic bag Sarbandi’s party brought from their stopover at the pharmacy contained one or more condoms. Evidence also indicated that a drink intended for Reyhaneh contained a date-rape drug or sedative, based on forensic or expert evidence described in the material. An interrogator went to the apartment and made a report.

Arrest

The police traced Reyhaneh Jabbari’s home that night and had her arrested at about 2:00 o’clock.

Trial

Reyhaneh Jabbari was taken to court and charged with murder. Her lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei (Founder UTO), raised self-defense. Evidence presented at trial supported the claim that she faced imminent threat of rape.

At trial, she pleaded self-defense. Despite that plea, she was convicted of murdering Sarbandi and sentenced to death by hanging.

Sentencing

She was sentenced to death by hanging, with the sentence described as being handed down in 2009. She remained in prison since 2007.

Appeals

International advocacy was described as seeking to spare her life, including lobbying by Amnesty International, the UN, the European Union, and the Gatestone Institute. A court postponed her execution in the face of heavy international outcry, including an international petition with nearly 200,000 signatures.

Outcome

On September 29, 2014, it was announced that her execution was imminent. On October 1, 2014, it was announced that plans to execute her had been halted for the time being. Shole Pakravan said she had learned the execution had been postponed after supporters of Jabbari went to Rajaiy Shahr Prison to protest the pending execution, and after Jabbari’s farewell.

Jabbari told her mother:

“I am currently handcuffed and there is a car waiting outside to take me for the execution of the sentence,” Jabbari told her mother, whose recounting in Farsi was translated by FoxNews.com. “Goodbye, dear Mum. All of my pains will finish early tomorrow morning. I’m sorry I cannot lessen your pain. Be patient. We believe in life after death. I’ll see you in the next world and I will never leave you again because being separated from you is the most difficult thing to do in the world.”

Amnesty International quoted Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, who said:

“This abhorrent execution must not be allowed to take place, particularly when there are serious doubts about the circumstances of the killing,”

and she added:

“Instead of continuing to execute people, authorities in Iran should reform their judicial system, which dangerously relies on processes which fail to meet international law and standards for fair trial.”

Shabnam Assadollahi said:

“She has been tortured in so many ways in prison. They may have pressured her to confess,”

and she stated:

“This is a verdict of "Ghessas" ["an eye for an eye"], but the details of the case don’t make sense,” Assadollhai said.

Jabbari’s family and advocates said the confession was coerced with torture, and argued that someone else killed Sarbandi and that Jabbari was set up. They also claimed that crucial evidence that could potentially save her life was either tampered with or destroyed.

Ahmed Shaheed, the UN’s human rights Iranian watchdog, stated:

“The Iranian authorities should review her case and refer it back to court for a re-trial, ensuring the defendant’s right to due process which is guaranteed under both Iranian law and international law,”

Aftermath

Jalal Sarbandi demanded clemency terms described as requiring the exposure of Reyhaneh Jabbari’s true intentions and the truth about her accomplice and what really went down. The material described that Sarbandi’s son insisted that she conceded that a third party was present in the apartment where Sarbandi was stabbed to death but she refused to reveal his identity.