Murder in Iran: Atefah Salaaleh's Story

Recently, I was astonished and saddened by the murder of Atefah Rajabi Sahaaleh. By all accounts, she was beautiful and intelligent...yet she had a troubled soul. She lived in the Muslim city of Neka, Iran, with her father. When Atefah was 5, her mother was killed in a car wreck, and soon she began acting out. She had made some bad choices, so she was considered a bad influence in the community.

Atefah took care of ailing grandparents, who reportedly ignored her on a daily basis. Her father worked in a different town and admitted to using drugs. He believes that his lack of guidance and attention, had actually led to his daughter's murder. Although, she had everything a girl could want or need. She missed her mother and was struggling to find her own path to follow.

At 13, she managed to get the attention of the Moral Police, when was arrested for being in a car with her male cousin. In Iran, it is against the law for boys and girls to be seen together for any reason. She was punished and released back into the community, but she was always on the Moral Police's radar. Atefah was becoming depressed and acting out more, which caused her problems in her community.

Then she was arrested, while cooking dinner for her grandparents. She was immediately charged with being "a bad influence", due to an unsigned neighborhood petition. That night, she was jailed and interrogated by the Moral Police, who follow the Shari Laws. Unfortunately, her family was unable to afford a defense counsel. Additionally, the courts refused to appoint her a defense attorney.

Atefah was scared and literally alone in her fight for freedom. During her punishment of lashes, she screamed out her attacker's name. Atefah was in serve pain and admitted to being raped repeatedly by Ali Darabi. He is a 51 year-old local cab driver that is married and has children of his own. She tried to tell everyone, who would listen that she was the victim of repeated rape.

After becoming frustrated, she removed her headdress in court and showed the judge how young she was. But, the judge took offense to her behavior and sentenced her to death by execution. She appealed and wrote letters to the judge, while other neighbors gathered signed petitions to free her. He denied her appeal also and she was immediately hung from a crane in the public square.

On August 15, 2004, she was hung in public for Crimes against Chastity. Her father never got to say goodbye, because he couldn't get there in time. That day, she became the tenth child that has been hung in Iran since 1990. Now, she is with Allah in paradise and her mother is holding her tight. But sadly, even in death Atefah has had no peace yet, because someone stole her body from her resting place.

According to the family and officials, her body hasn't been recovered they aren't supposed to talk about the trial and execution. Her attacker only received 95 lashes and he was able to retain his freedom. Fortunately, her execution is now the focus of Amnesty International and other human rights groups. Soon, journalist Asieh Amini heard rumors about the execution and she began investigating her age.

Atefah's father showed a birth and death certificate, which proved she was born in 1988. However, official Iranian court documents listed her as a 22 year-old female. In the local state-run paper, she is listed as 22 and accused of adultery. Why didn't anyone notice this discrepancy in her case with her age? How is a victim of rape given a death sentence, but their attacker is given under a hundred lashes?

How can the Iranian officials condone the execution of any child that is troubled? Iranian courts can't execute any child under 18, according to Islamic Laws or Shari Law. But, Iran has killed ten teens since 1990, in public to teach some kind of lesson. Will there be more children murdered in Iran in the coming years? Only time, will be able to tell, if the human rights groups can make a difference in the Iranian courts.

Reference:

BBC News (2006) Execution of a Teenage Girl
Retrieved on the World Wide Web on October 12, 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5217424.stm