Young Woman in Danger of Execution in Iran!

Siavosh Jalili, Persian2English - For the third time nine days ago, the death sentence for Safieh Ghafouri (a.k.a. Maryam), a 28-year-old woman who has been imprisoned in Adel Abad prison in Shiraz since 2006, was supposed to be carried out. At the age of 22, Ghafouri was arrested and charged with murder. Recently, following the efforts of benevolent people and Ghafouri’s lawyers, judicial authorities agreed to postpone the execution order for 10 days to allow Ghafouri the opportunity to secure the consent of the victim’s family [to have her life spared]. The 10-day period ends on June 10, and there is a possibility that the execution order may be carried out if consent is not granted by the victim’s family or if an order is not obtained from the Head of Judiciary for a stay of execution.

Even though the Iranian Supreme Court has agreed to hear Ghafouri’s appeal on the case, the Supreme Court has also stated that it will not proceed with the appeals hearing until Sadegh Larijani, the Head of the Iranian Judiciary, agrees to it. The Supreme Court explained that since Larijani had ordered the execution to be carried out, the stay of execution may only be possible if ordered through him. In the Iranian Judicial system, the highest authority lies with the Supreme Court. This means that if the Supreme Court agrees to hear a case, the execution sentence in that case must be stayed. Despite this, judicial officials have stated that Ghafouri’s execution can only be stayed if the order comes from Larijani.