Atefeh Rajabi Sahaaleh was a 16-year-old Mazandarani Iranian girl from the town of Neka, Iran who was executed a week after being sentenced to death by Haji Rezai, head of Neka’s court on charges of adultery and “crimes against chastity”. After the execution of Atefeh, Iranian media reported that Judge Rezai and several militia members, including Captain Zabihi and Captain Molai, were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry. The execution is controversial because as a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran promised not to execute anyone under the age of 18. Atefah’s father had passed her birth certificate to the civil authorities, lawyers involved, journalists and Judge Rezai. Pursuant to continual complaints filed by Atefeh’s family, and heavy international pressure about her execution and the way the judge mishandled the case, the Supreme Court of Iran issued an order to free Atefeh.
Atefeh’s mother died in a car accident when she was five. Shortly after, her younger brother is said to have drowned in a river. Her father became a drug addict, and she was forced to care for her octogenarian grandparents. Despite her attending to their needs they are reported to have completely ignored her. She grew up in the town of Neka, Iran and was described as a ‘lively and intelligent girl,’ whom everyone knew, and was often seen wandering free on the streets. She was called “gypsy of Neka” by the locals, as she was not restrained in her behavior. It is said that she was arrested five times by the time she was 16 and convicted each time for sex outside marriage and given 100 lashes. She was convicted for ‘crimes against chastity’, based on her admission, obtained through torture, that she had repeatedly had sex with a 51-year-old ex-revolutionary guard turned taxi-driver Ali Darabi, a married man with children.
She kept the relationship, which lasted over three years, a secret from both her family and the authorities. However, while in prison, she finally told her grandmother, saying that afterwards she could only walk on all fours because of the pain. In the court the judge was Haji Rezai. As Atefah realised she was losing her case, she removed her hijab, an act seen as a severe contempt of the court, and argued that Ali Darabi should be punished, not she. She even removed her shoes and hit the judge with them. The judge later sentenced her to death. According to the BBC, the documents presented to the Supreme Court of Appeal described her as 22 years old, but her birth certificate and death certificate stated that she was 16. The issue of her age was not brought to proper attention before it was too late. Amnesty International and other organisations claimed that she suffered from psychological illness, both before and at the trial.
She was publicly hanged from a crane in Neka, Iran, on August 15, 2004. The judge in her case, Haji Rezai, allegedly also applied the noose himself. Amnesty International and other organizations declared her killing to be a crime against humanity and against children of the world. The case of Atefeh Sahaaleh is the subject of a BBC documentary made by Wild Pictures. Director, Monica Garnsey and Associate Producer, Arash Sahami went undercover to document the case. In terms of the number of people executed by the state in 2004, Iran is estimated to be second only to China. In the year of Atefah’s death, at least 159 people were executed in accordance with the Islamic law of the country, based on the Sharia code. Since the revolution, Sharia law has been Iran’s highest legal authority. Alongside murder and drug smuggling, sex outside marriage is also a capital crime. As a signatory of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Iran has promised not to execute anyone under the age of 18.
But the clerical courts do not answer to parliament. They abide by their religious supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, making it virtually impossible for human rights campaigners to call them to account. To teach others a lesson, Atefah’s execution was held in public. “When I met with the family,” says Asieh, “they showed me a copy of her birth certificate, and a copy of her death certificate. Both of them show she was born in 1988. This gave me legitimate grounds to investigate the case.” So why was such a young girl executed? And how could she have been accused of adultery when she was not even married? Disturbed by the death of her mother when she was only four or five years old, and her distraught father’s subsequent drug addiction, Atefah had a difficult childhood. She was also left to care for her elderly grandparents, but they are said to have shown her no affection.
In a town like Neka, heavily under the control of religious authorities, Atefah – often seen wandering around on her own – was conspicuous. It was just a matter of time before she came to the attention of the “moral police”, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, whose job it is to enforce the Islamic code of behaviour on Iran’s streets. Being stopped or arrested by the moral police is a fact of life for many Iranian teenagers. Previously arrested for attending a party and being alone in a car with a boy, Atefah received her first sentence for “crimes against chastity” when she was just 13. Although the exact nature of the crime is unknown, she spent a short time in prison and received 100 lashes. Atefah was soon caught in a downward spiral of arrest and abuse. When she returned to her home town, she told those close to her that lashes were not the only things she had to endure in prison. She described abuse by the moral police guards. Soon after her release, Atefah became involved in an abusive relationship with a man three times her age.
Former revolutionary guard, 51-year-old Ali Darabi – a married man with children – raped her several times. She kept the relationship a secret from both her family and the authorities. Atefah was soon caught in a downward spiral of arrest and abuse. Circumstances surrounding Atefah’s fourth and final arrest were unusual. The moral police said the locals had submitted a petition, describing her as a “source of immorality” and a “terrible influence on local schoolgirls”. But there were no signatures on the petition – only those of the arresting guards. Three days after her arrest, Atefah was in a court and tried under Sharia law. The judge was the powerful Haji Rezai, head of the judiciary in Neka. No court transcript is available from Atefah’s trial, but it is known that for the first time, Atefah confessed to the secret of her sexual abuse by Ali Darabi. However, the age of sexual consent for girls under Sharia law – within the confines of marriage – is nine, and furthermore, rape is very hard to prove in an Iranian court. “Men’s word is accepted much more clearly and much more easily than women,” according to Iranian lawyer and exile Mohammad Hoshi. “They can say: ‘You know she encouraged me’ or ‘She didn’t wear proper dress’.”She was my love, my heart… I did everything for her, everything I could” (Atefah’s father).
When Atefah realised her case was hopeless, she shouted back at the judge and threw off her veil in protest. It was a fatal outburst. She was sentenced to execution by hanging, while Darabi got just 95 lashes. Shortly before the execution, but unbeknown to her family, documents that went to the Supreme Court of Appeal described Atefah as 22. “Neither the judge nor even Atefah’s court appointed lawyer did anything to find out her true age,” says her father. And a witness claims: “The judge just looked at her body, because of the developed physique… and declared her as 22.” Judge Haji Rezai took Atefah’s documents to the Supreme Court himself. And at six o’clock on the morning of her execution he put the noose around her neck, before she was hoisted on a crane to her death.
During the making of the documentary about Atefah’s death the production team telephoned Judge Haji Rezai to ask him about the case, but he refused to comment. The human rights organisation Amnesty International says it is concerned that executions are becoming more common again under President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad, who advocates a return to the pure values of the revolution. The judiciary have never admitted there was any mishandling of Atefah’s case. For Atefah’s father the pain of her death remains raw. He did not get the chance to say goodbye. We invite all of you to remember this true story. We must never forgot! And every single day of our lives we must do our best to vote against Gods, countries, laws and people who don’t protect and respect children’s rights.