Salam waleykum, readers.
It’s with a heavy heart that I spread the word about Delara Darabi’s execution. She was executed today, on May 1st, according to news reports. There isn’t a lot out there, but here’s a linkup of all the news stories at this time:
There are several demonstrations planned internationally. You can check out the Save Delara Facebook group for information.
May Allah give her peace and justice.
Update May 2, 2009:
News from:
Nisha Chittal says exactly what I’m thinking in her post, titled, “The mainstream media ignored Delara Darabi. New media didn’t.” Despite the fact that the majority of the Muslim and feminist blogospheres have not reported on her execution at this time, Chittal makes the excellent observation that Twitter was the first to break the news of Darabi’s execution and spread the word. MMW twittered the story as soon as we received an email from a reader, and many of our colleagues did the same.
May 3, 2009:
According to DelaraDarabi’s Twitter account, her body showed signs of pre-mortem tortue (meaning she may have been tortured before she was executed).
Tweet
Tags: Delara Darabi, execution, Iran
May Allah CURSE all those murderers who put her on death row! Poor girl, may she RIP
One aspect about the media coverage of the case that bothers me is the focus on her age. If she were accused of committing the crime at 18 instead of 17, would that suddenly make her execution ok?
What was done was murder, not justice. May Allah (swt) comfort and bless her with the Gardens of Paradise, inshallah. We may at least have the assurance that her after-life will be better than the hell on Earth she endured from corruption. Allahu Alim. This is not the vision of a justice system Muhammad (saws) brought to mankind. While the officials behind this may suffer no consequence in this life, may Allah (swt) throw them into the hellfire in the next. Allahu Alim.
@ Muffy: I think it’s also worth noting that all of the media coverage about this case is not American. I did a Google News Search earlier today, and everything about her execution was in Italian, Spanish, Dutch, German, etc. Nothing in English, nothing from American news outlets.
Hi, Fatemeh. Thanks for the link, and great post. It is such a shame that more attention is not being directed on this story. It’s getting a lot of attention in the blogosphere now, but not from mainstream media. And if you look at some of the mainstream news stories, most of them have framed their story around “human rights groups outraged over execution”. The human rights groups like Amnesty, etc. had to bring attention to it in order to make it news — or media outlets STILL might not have paid attention to it. I hope at least in the future, maybe this case will get enough attention to prevent future situations like this for other minors sentenced to death.
What a sad sad shame.
I don’t understand what the fuss is all about. Is it because Darabi is an IRANIAN woman that the usual suspects are crying foul? Or the fact that she was a minor according to the “standards” of some western nations when she murdered a 65 year old woman?
I have no problems with convicted murderers paying the ultimate price. Now if there is foul play in the justice system there then one can certainly object.
I didn’t see these same self proclaimed human rights and feminist hypocrites complain about a judgment against Majid Movahedi who attacked a woman with acid for refusing his marriage proposal. Ameneh Bahrami who was left disfigured and blinded demanded that the punishment should fit the crime. Asked by the judge if she wanted Movahedi’s face to be splashed with acid, she replied: “That is impossible and horrific. Just drip 20 drops of acid in his eyes so he can realize what pain I am undergoing.”
Such double standards.
gosh, my heart feels so heavy right now…
this is not justice…a death penalty can only be warranted once there is absolute proof of murder, which clearly there isn’t here! the islamic code demands such rigorous investigation and witness … May Allah right the injustice done to her…
Very disappointing coming out of Iran, a country I personally had much hope in…
Just some more information that you all might find interesting:
The Head of the Judiciary in Iran Ayatollah Shahroudi actually issued a delay of her execution last week, but because of the structure of the Iranian judicial system (more details on this if you’re interested) the lower courts did not have to obey by this opinion. This reflects a growing and disturbing trend in the already mercurial Iranian judicial system of fighting factions and power plays between political groups. Delara was clearly a victim of faction politics, as the lower courts could use her execution as a statement that they did not have to obey by the opinion of Shahroudi or Ahmadinejad. Same goes for Roxana’s arrest: Ahmadinejad actually issued a statement calling for her retrial, but the court did not have to listen.
With the upcoming elections, I fear these power plays will grow more intense at the expense of Iranian citizens.
Dear Safyyah
Welcome to the reality of the islamic republic of Iran!! The people of Iran have been the victims of this cruel regim during the last decades.
There have been hundred cases like Delaras during the last 30 years.
Innocent men, women, boys and girls who have been executed because of their thoughts, opinions, …you name it!
Unfortunately the islamic world outside Iran has got a wrong idea about the Islamic republic of Iran and its leaders due to the regims propaganda on issues lika Israel-Palestine, US- politics in the Middle East etc.
As I told before, Welcome to the reality of the Iranian people oppressed by the islamic republic of Iran.
@ DrM: the consensus is that Darabi did not murder the woman, but took the fall for her boyfriend, because both believed she would not be sentenced to death, though he would.
[...] Delara Darabi is dead. 2009 May 3 by Fatemeh When I found out that Delara Darabi had been executed on Friday, I felt defeat. I went through the motions, disseminating the news through Twitter, Facebook, and MMW. [...]
This is terrible and really upsetting
I heard about all of this from MMW and wasn’t aware that other Muslim bloggers didn’t report this. May Allah bless her Soul and bring her justice. Ameen.
I am also sorry for this poor girl. I have read many articles about her story, but in none of them I found the details about the motive of the murder: why did her ex-boyfriend killed that woman? is it something related to drugs? of course, any reason is not important, because no reason will bring her back to life, anyway, I would like to understand the background of that murder, how a so sensitive and harmless young girl could become involved in such a violent fact?
Her ex-boyfriend sounds like a douche. He commits murder, then asks his girlfriend to accept responsibility to save his life. Ladies, NEVER come to the defense of a violent boyfriend!
I’m so sad to hear this. And I’m so sorry I didn’t help spread the word.