نوجوانان را اعدام نکنید SCE News and Updates archives

Among the growing supporters of the Stop Child Executions who have signed the SCE petition is AmirAbbas Fakhravar , journalist, author and former political prisoner of conscious in Iran.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam and SCE campaign apprecaite Mr. Fakhravr’s' support of the Stop Child Executions campaign.

AmirAbbas Fakhravar ( امیر عباس فخرآور )  is an Iranian writer, activist and former journalist for the now banned pro-reform daily newspapers. While in Iran he called for constitutional referendum to rescind the powers of the Supreme Leader and Council of Guardians. After prior imprisonments on new years eve of 2000, AmirAbbas was taken from his home to the Evin prison and tortured heavily until he had to be transferred to hospital in Tehran for emergency treatment.  Fakhravar had been imprisoned in Iran for his political activism 19 times, with his first experience at the age of 17, when he was still in high school.

Fakhravar entered United Stated in April 2006. Since then he has met president Bush, many others in US government and also has testified in the US congress. Fakhravar is the founder of the Iranian Freedom Movement and is also the chairman of the Independent student movement.

AmirAbbas Fakhravar while in prison.

Josefina Lopez playwriter and co-screenwriter of the award-winning film, Real Women Have Curves signed the Stop Child Executions Petition. Nazanin Afshin-Jam and SCE Campaign wish to thank Ms. Lopez for her support of the Campaign to Stop Child Executions.

About Josefina Lopez: Having had over 100 productions of her plays throughout the United States, Josefina Lopez is one of today’s preeminent Chicana writers. She has written several plays such as Simply Maria, Or the American Dream; Confessions of Women From East L.A.; Boyle Heights; Lola Goes To Roma; Food For The Dead; Unconquered Spirits; Queen of the Rumba and Real Women Have Curves. She is the co-screenwriter of the movie version of her play Real Women Have Curves, The movie garnered much acclaim, including at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival where the film won the “Audience Award” and a “Special Jury Award for Acting.” Josefina has written several other screenplays including Loteria for Juarez about the mysterious murders of women in the Mexico/US border town of Ciudad Juarez; Josefina has won several awards including a Gabriel Garcia Marquez award from L.A. Mayor in 2003. She was also recognized by the WGA as the cover story for the December 2002/January 2003 issue of the prestigious Writers’ Guild magazine “Written By,” entitled “Real Writers Have Courage.” Josefina and cowriter George LaVoo won the “Humanitas Award for Screenwriting” for Real Women Have Curves. She was awarded a Screenwriting Fellowship by the California Arts Council for 2001 and in 1988 she was recognized by California Senator Barbara Boxer as a “woman who has made history in the entertainment industry.” 

Prominent Iranian lawyer, human right activist and author, Mehrangiz Kar (مهرانگیز کار )who was jailed in April 2000 for her writings and speeches on women’s rights , has signed the petition to Stop Child Executions in Iran. Mrs’ Kar met Nazanin Afshin-Jam last week in New Jersey. 

Mehrangiz Kar is Recipient of many human rights awards such as: Annual Human Rights First Award, Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize (France) , Democracy Award of the National Endowment for Democracy (U.S.),  Hellman/Hammett Grant from Human Rights Watch.

Nazanin  Afshin-Jam and SCE Campaign thank Mrs. Kar’s for her support of the Stop Child Executions Campaign and petition.    

About Mehrangiz Kar:  On April 30, 2000, the Islamic Republic of Iran imprisoned Mehrangiz Kar and other activists and intellectuals such as Akbar Ganji because they had participated in a conference on the future of Iran held in Berlin, Germany. She was denied access to her lawyer and was not allowed to receive medicines during her nearly two months in solitary confinement. She was charged with “acting against the internal security of the state and disparaging the sacred order of the Islamic Republic.” Two charges were filed against her in the Islamic Revolutionary Court– acting against national security and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran– and three additional charges in Iran’s Public Court– violating the observance of hejab, denying the Islamic instructions stated in the Qu’ran, and insulting Islam. 

On June 21, 2000 Mehrangiz Kar was freed on $60,000 bail. Having been diagnosed with breast cancer, Ms. Kar appealed to authorities to be allowed to seek medical care in Netherlands and United States. Denied this humanitarian relief, Ms. Kar underwent a mastectomy and a regimen of chemotherapy of Iran. Almost concurrent with her medical treatment, her case went to trial. In January 2001, the Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Mehrangiz Kar to four year’s imprisonment which was considered completed in exchange for money. The three charges against her in Iran’s Public Court are still open, for which she may again be arrested upon her return.

Human Rights Advocate and former member of Iran’s parliament , Fatemeh Haghighatjoo signed the Petition to stop child executions in Iran. In an email , Ms. Haghighatjoo also thanked Nazanin Afshin-Jam for her “unique efforts of human rights”.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam and SCE Campaign  thank Dr. Haghighatjoo for her support of the Campaign to  permanently end child executions in Iran.

Fatemeh Haghighatjou, (فاطمه حقیقت‌جو) was a reformist member of the Iranian Parliament until February 2004. While in parliament she challenged and criticized the hardliners as well as the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. She was the first to resign when the anti-reform measures of the Supreme Leader began to take shape. Her resignation was followed by few other pro-reform MP’s.  In 2001, Ms. Haghighatjoo was sentenced to 20 months in prison, for “inciting public opinion and insulting the judiciary”. Her sentence—which she terms illegitimate and undemocratic, and which she has not served yet—was later reduced to 10 months. In 2005 Haghighatjoo was a fellow at MIT’s Center for International Relations. She is currently a fellow at Harvard University’s Women and Public Policy Program. 

” When a 16 year old child commits a crime, they issue the death sentence. They keep the child until s/he is over 18 and then proceed with the execution. In reality this is a multiple torture. Assume being someone who everyday has to turn the pages of the calendar to see when you are 18 years old to be killed. This multiple torture that is committed by Government of Iran in reality is an extreme and repeated violation of human rights”

Shirin Ebadi – March 2007 interview with Radio Deutsche Welle

Last week Nazanin Afshin-Jam and the Iranian Nobel Prize Laureate 2003, Shirin Ebadi participated in a panel discussion on women and human rights in the Middle East at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

At this meeting, Ms. Ebadi recognized the work and dedication of Nazanin Afshin-Jam and the Stop Child Executions campaign and extended her support by signing the petition to put a permanent end to executions of minors in Iran.

Shirin Ebadi (شیرین عبادیi) s an Iranian lawyer, human rights activist and founder of Children’s Rights Support Association in Iran. Ms. Ebadi also is also one of the initiaters of the One Million Signature Campaign in Iran which has a goal of equal rights for Iranian women. Nazanin Afshin-Jam and the SCE Campaign thank Ms. Ebadi for her support of the campaign to Stop Child Executions in Iran. 

To date more than 91 members (26%) of Swedish Parliament have voiced their support for the Stop Child Executions Campaign. Here is the list of additional MP signatures since our last reports:

5454 Signatures and growing

Last month Ghazal Darabi , 19 year old sister of Delara Darabi signed the stop child executions petition. 

 Yesterday she also signed Delara’s petition. 

she wrote: I am Delara’s sister. I wish that you get to know her and please be aware that she is innocent.

In a letter to Foreign Minister of Sweden, Birgitta Ohlsson , member of the Swedish Parliament , after addressing Delara’s situation and Iran’s obligation to adhere to International laws against execution of children, she asked the Swedish Foreign minister : What is the policy and plan of Government of Sweden in stopping execution of Delara Darabi and others in Iran who were under 18 at the time of alleged crime?

17 år gammal greps den iranska flickan Delara Darabi för ett mord hon inte begått. Två år senare inväntar hon nu dödsstraff trots att ingen brottsutredning har gjorts. Den 16 februari 2007 offentliggjorde Högsta domstolen i Iran att Delara Darabi ska avrättas genom hängning inom kort. Mordet hon anklagas för begicks när hon ännu inte fyllt 18 år.

FN:s Kommitté för Barnens Rättigheter uppmanade 2005 Iran att ”omedelbart inställa verkställandet av alla dödsstraff för personer som begått brott när de var under 18 år”, vilket föreskrivits i artikel 37 i Konventionen om Barnens Rättigheter.

Dödsstraffet kränker rätten till liv och förhindrar inte brott. Det är inhumant, skapar martyrer och strider mot rätten till liv, vår allra mest grundläggande mänskliga rättighet.

Vad avser statsrådet att vidtaga för åtgärder så att den iranska staten häver dödsdomen mot Delara Darabi samt stoppar alla dödsstraff utfärdade för individer som anklagas för brott begångna innan de fyllt18 år?

English translation of letter:

Question

Stopping the execution of D Darabi

by Birgitta Ohlsson (fp)

to Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt

When she was 17 years old the Iranian girl Delara Darabi was arrested for a murder she did not commit. Two years later she is awaiting execution though there has been no crime scene investigation. The Supreme Court in Iran announced February 16, 2007 that Delara will be executed shortly by hanging. The murder she is accused of happened before she turned 18 years.

The UN committee on the Rights of the Child asked Iran in 2005 to “immediately end the use of death penalty against people who committed crimes before they turned 18 years”, as prescribed by article 37 in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The death penalty violates the right to life and do not act as an deterrent to crime. It is inhuman, creates martyrs and denies the right to life, the most fundamental of all human rights.

What measures does the minister intend to take to make the Iranian state overturn the death sentence against Delara Darabi, and end the use of death penalty for individuals accused for crimes committed before they turned 18 years?
 

Inkom: 2007-03-02

نامه بیریگیتا اولسون نماینده حزب مردم در پارلمان سوﺌد به وزیر امور خارجه سوﺌد درباره دلآرا دارابی و اعدام کودکان و نوجوانان درایران!

در پی تماسهای نماینده گان کمیته بین المللی علیه اعدام با بیرگیتا اولسون و تقاضای دخالت ایشان در شرایط دلارا دارابی، توقف اعدام کودکان و لغو مجازات اعدام در ایران، ایشان در نامه اش به کارل بیلد می نویسد:

دلآرا دارابی، زمانی که 17 سال بیشتر نداشت به جرم قتلی که مرتکب نشده است، بازداشت شد. دو سال بعد قرار است وی اعدام شود در حالیکه هیچ گونه تحقیقات جنایی در رابطه با این قتل صورت نگرفته است. شانزدهم فوریه دادگاه عالی ایران، اعلام کرد که حکم دلآرا تأیید شده است و به زودی به دار آویخته خواهد شد. قتلی که او به انجام آن متهم است در زمانی اتفاق افتاده است که وی به سن قانونی یعنی 18 سالگی نرسیده بود. کمیسیون حقوق کودکان سازمان ملل در سال 2005 بر اساس بند 37 کنوانسیون حقوق کودک، اخطار داد که اعدام کسانی که در زمان اجرای جرم، زیر 18 سال بوده اند را بیدرنگ متوقف کند،.

مجازات اعدام نه تنها از تکرار جنایت و قتل جلوگیری نمی کند بلکه حق حیات را سلب می کند. این عملی ضد انسانی و خلاف حق زندگی است، این ابتدایی ترین و پایه ای تری حقوق بشر.

برنامه دولت برای لغو حکم اعدام دلارا و اشخاص دیگری که در زمان وقوع جرم زیر 18 سال بوده اند در ایران چیست؟ 

The Iranian foreign minister visited  Sweden on Monday where he gave a speech at the Swedish Institute of Foreign Affairs. He also met with Swedish deputy prime minister Maud Olofsson and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.

Bildt on Tuesday told Swedish radio that during the meeting he had discussed human rights concerns, including the extensive use of the death penalty in Iran.  In Sweden, Iranian and human rights groups criticized Mottaki’s visit and staged protests.  Responding to critics, Bildt said that it was necessary to engage in a dialogue in order to have any means of influencing Iran and that the talks were part of joint European Union efforts to send a ‘coordinated message’ to Tehran. 

The Norway visit also generated attention to Iran’s human rights violation records. The news on Norway’s TV2 had stoning and suppresion of  women as one of their main cases. There were also a demonstration outside while the Iranian foreign minister had a meeting with Jonas Gahr Støre, the Norwegian foreign minister.

Unexpeted by Iranian officials, human rights became one of the main subjects of the meeting. Støre protested 
execution of minors, women’s situation and Holocaust denial. 

On another news more Parliament members from Sweden signed the Stop Child Executions petition which brings the total of  Swedish MPs to 51 to date:

source: SVD Inrikis, SR Radio

As Nazanin Afshin-Jam enters the United Kingdom on her last media campaign stop, the number of signatures on the SCE petition exceeded 4000 with a surge in signatures from UK. Today Mr. Peter Hulme Cross, member of city of London Assemly signed the petition.

While in London, in a meeting with Amnesty International UK, Nazanin discussed more joint cooperation between SCE campaign and Amnesty International.

Stop Child Executions campaign also received substantial public support from the French. While in France Nazanin took every media and TV opportunity to raise awareness about the Child Executions in Iran.

On another front the growing support from Swedish Parliament members has been extraordinary (40 to date). Nazanin Afshin-Jam and SCE campaign thank the honorable members of the Parliament of Sweden for their continuous unparallel support:

SCE Camapign wish to thank honorable members of Swedish Parliament Mats Pertoft and Helena Leander for their kind support and signing the Stop Child Executions Campaign Petition.

We additionally extend our appreciation to the Secretary general and treasurer of the Lebertarian party of France for their support.

Stop Child Executions Campaign thanks three more Swedish Praliament members who have joined their colleagues in signing the SCE petition. To date, 20 Parliament members and politicians have supported the campaign.

The petition signatures surpassed 3000 on May 1st. The signers are from different countries, backgrounds and ages such as 16 year old Kelly Campbell of US:

Campaign supporters such as Hazel Sawyer (UK) have organized events and obtained signatures for SCE and Delara Darabi petitions:

Hazel also created an artwork dedicated to Delara Darabi which is now placed at saatchi gallery competition. You can vote for her art to help raise awareness about Stop Child Executions and Delara Darabi.

Stop Child Executions Campaign greatly appreciate the overwhelming support of Swedish Parliamentary members:

Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

Former Member of Parliament

SCE encourage our campaign supporters to contact your country leaders & politicians, your local members of parliament and your minister of foreign affairs asking them to join the other worlld politicians in signing the SCE petition demanding the Government of Iran to stop child executions as well as asking the UN offices to demand Iran to comply with signed treaties. . (US Officials can be found here)

A word of thanks to Pia and Manocher for their continuous lobbying efforts in Sweden.

During a phone conversation, Nazanin Fatehi asked Nazanin Afshin-Jam to add her name to the Stop Child Executions petition.

Nazanin Fatehi was sentenced to death for murder of a man in self defense who attempted to rape her and her 15 year old niece. After an international campaign initiated by Nazanin Afshin-Jam and support of more than 350,000 people worldwide and much international pressure,  and after spending two grueling years in prison Nazanin Fatehi was spared from her original death sentence and released from prison on Janurary 31st 2007.