An international NGO advocating for leniency has announced that an Iranian woman found guilty of doing away with her harsh spouse was put to death on Wednesday.
As per a press release by Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO, Samira Sabzian, a child bride married at the tender age of 15, was a victim of domestic violence. She was apprehended in 2013 at just 19 for killing her husband.
“Samira fell victim today to the relentless and profane regime’s mechanism of death, after years of suffering from child marriage, domestic abuse, and gender segregation,” Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the Norway-based human rights group said. “A regime that survives solely on fear and homicide. The Islamic Republic’s leaders, including Ali Khamenei, need to answer for this crime.”
At the time of her arrest, Sabzian already had two young children – one was a newborn baby, whom she encountered for the first and only time when they visited the prison to say their final goodbyes, just before she was hanged in Ghezelhesar, within the city of Karaj, 20 km away from Tehran, the capital of Iran.
Amnesty International also expressed its horror over the execution of the young mother.
“Out of 800 hangings, Samira represents the eighteenth woman to be executed this year in Iran,” said Riccardo Noury, a representative for Amnesty International, Italy. “Iranian regulations endorse forced and early marriages, offer no protection against domestic violence, and then execute women when they try to fight back. Samira Sabzian tragically epitomizes a system rooted in female oppression from a young age.”
The Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights expressed its “alarm” following Sabzian’s execution and called on Iran to cease capital punishment.
“We reiterate our request to Iran to apply a moratorium on all executions with a goal towards abolishing the death penalty altogether,” added the office.
Earlier, the United Nations had voiced worries over the “disturbing speed” at which executions are being carried out in Iran. A report from November shows that Iran had executed no fewer than 419 individuals within the year’s first seven months, indicating a 30 percent increase compared to the same period in 2022.
Expressing deep concern, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pointed out “the dearth of transparent and independent investigations into alleged human rights violations, particularly in the context of recent nationwide protests.”