AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL yesterday expressed outrage at Iran’s execution of a young woman, Delara Darabi, convicted of a crime she was alleged to have committed while still under 18. It was the second such execution this year.
Amnesty expressed particular concern that Ms Darabi’s lawyer was not informed about the execution. “This appears to have been a cynical move on the part of the authorities to avoid domestic and international protests which might have saved Delara’s life,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of the group’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
She said Ms Darabi was executed despite having been given a two-month stay of execution by the head of the judiciary on April 19th.
Ms Darabi was convicted of murdering a relative in 2003 when she was 17. She initially confessed to the murder, believing she could save her boyfriend from the gallows, but later retracted her confession.
The execution brings the number of executions in Iran this year to 140. She is the second woman known to have been executed.