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Lately, my blog has been getting a lot of visits and search hits. Where to? It’s the entry on Nazanin Fathi case! It started a long argument between a lawyer who seems to not like Nazanin Afshin-Jam so much and some avid supporters of the latter! I find the whole topic ironic, because it’s getting too much media attention (and search hits!) while, for example, 100 Iraqis being killed each day, says UN. I’ll leave comment up to you.

ايه المطلوب عشان نفوق؟ ايه المطلوب عشان نصدق؟؟ تدوينة مالك الاخيرة خارج نطاق الإدارك البشري عند المصريين
أزاي؟ يعني الشباب المصري رواد العمل الاجتماعي، اللي من البيت من المسجد و من المسجد للبيت يعمل حاجة كده؟
يعني ايه؟ و بعدين؟
لازم بنت او أخت حد كانت تكون معاهم عشان يصدقوا؟
لو ما كانتش الحكومة تقول يبقي ماحصلش؟
ده كابوس
ليه الأمن متدخلش؟ لامبالاة؟ صعبة أوي دي
طب البنات دول عاملين ايه دلوقتي؟؟
خلاص ولا في كمان ؟ هنروح فين بعد كده؟؟

من آن لآخر تسمع من بعض المسؤولين و رجال المخابرات الأمريكية المتقاعدين عن رحلات “التعذيب بالوكالة“[1]. في إيجاز شديد، يعني هذا المصطلح خطف من تشتبه الاستخبارات الأمريكية في تورطهم في عمل يضر “بالمصلحة الوطنية الأمريكية” من أي مكان حول العالم و إرسالهم إلي “جهات بعينها” في دول عدة لاستخراج ما يعرفونه تحت وطأة التعذيب المروع. وهو مروع لدرجة أنه - حتي في ظل إدارة بوش و محاولاته المستيمتة لإبعاد القائمين علي التعذيب عن ساحة المحاكمة - لا يمكن ممارسته داخل الأراضية الأمريكية أو حتي في جوانتاناموا. أين يرسلون؟ الأردن، سوريا، إسرائيل، و مصر، علي سبيل المثال. قصص من نجوا بعد هذه التجارب يندى لها الجبين. للأسف الشديد، مصر لها السمعة الأسوء كأقسى هذه الأماكن. ما بين بتر الأطراف إلى التهديد بالاغتصاب عن طريق الكلاب ، تجعلك هذه القصص تتسائل من ذا الذي أتاه كل هذا الجبروت ليقوم بمثل تلك الأفعال. و ما الذي يمكن أن يقوله عندما يلقي الجبار المتكبر يوم الحساب؟ ما غيّر تضاريس تكوينهم لتكون بهذه البشاعه؟ هذا ومؤكد عدم جدوي تلك الطرق في الغالب لأن المعلومات الذي يحصلون عليها غير ذات مصداقية، “فالمشتبه” يحاول قول ما يمكن به أن يرضي معذبيه و ربما ينتهي به الأمر لهلاوس دائمة كما يحدث في جوانتاناموا. يعني الموضوع مالوش لازمه، طب ليه؟؟

أمس قابلت واحد منهم لم أسمع به من قبل، قابلته في أخبارهم التي تفشت كالوباء عابر المحيطات لتصيب طفل في السابعة عشر لا حول له ولا قوة، مقيد بالأغلال في زنزانة مظلمة، يسوموه جلادوها العذاب ليل نهار. عذاب صممه و خطه عقول و آيادي علماء في السلوك البشري، داخل تجربة خرقاء ظهرت ضمن حرب مرت عليها عشرات السنين ولكن يجري تطبيقها العكسي الآن. قابِلوا عمر خضر، أحد الأطفال سجناء جوانتاناموا. شاهدوه و أحد معذيبيه يهدده بإرساله - و قالها بالعربية - “لعسكري رقم تسعة” المصري … مغتصب السجناء.

[1] ترجمة المصطلح من تعذيب

متي نصطف الي جانب اخواننا في فلسطين و لبنان و العراق؟

I came across a MySpace account calling for action about “Nazanin’s case”. Who is Nazanin? I started to read the texts on that MySpace page and ran to the little google search box on the upper right corner of my browser window in quest for more answers. But let’s first look at the “call for support” written in the form of a letter from Nazanin by the owner of that account ..

“In January 3, 2006, I was sentenced to death for murder by a court in Iran after I admitted that in March of 2005 I stabbed in self-defense a man who attempted to rape me and my 15-year-old niece in a park. I was seventeen at the time. My sentence is subject to review by the Court of Appeal and confirmation by the Supreme Court. Therefore, there is still some time to make a difference in my life.
I ask your urgent action to help save my life. My only crime was an attempt to defend myself and my niece. Many like me in Iran have been caught between two undesirable options. On one hand, Iranian Penal Code severely limits the possibility of using ’self-defense’ as a legitimate defense to aggression.
On the other hand, if I had allowed the rape to take place, I could still be imprisoned or flogged for having sex outside of marriage unless four male witnesses to the actual rape would testify on my behalf!
To help get most exposure to my case, MySpace members can ADD ME AS A FRIEND (Top 8 in profile) and also inform your friends via email and bulletin board to also add me as a friend and sign the petition. I am only 18 and I still want to live”

Now that sounds pretty cruel, doesn’t it? But hmm could a judge really punish someone for defending themselves against a rap?? Questions began to circulate my mind: How did this “rape attempt” take place? Under what Iranian law she’s going to be executed? And under what law people get punished for being rapped?

Oh well, time to google! On the “official” support site for Nazanin, I found the original article published by the Iranian newspaper Etemaad and translated to English. Well, there are few surprises there as well .. You can read the full article, but I’ll just summarize it and quote some discussions that took place during the trial..

Then 17-year-old Nazanin and her 15 year old niece (Samieh) with their “boyfriends” (?) (Roozbeh and Hamid) riding motorcycles where three men approached them, threw a rock at their motorcycles and, according to “only” Nazanin, one of them (Yoosef) tried to rape her. Now let’s hear some of their testimonies ..

“Subsequently, Hamid, Samieh’s boyfriend, who was present in the hearing as a witness, told the judge: I have been friends with Samieh (Nazanin’s niece) for a few months. Roozbeh was also friends with Nazanin. On the day of the event, both Roozbeh and I had our motorcycles. Nazanin rode with Roozbeh and Samieh rode with me and we rode around Karaj together for a few hours and then stopped at the corner of a park. In an instant, three young men approached us in a threatening manner and said some horrible things to us. Then, Mohammad, one of those men, attacked us with a rock. Samieh got off of my motorcycle and approached the men to fight them. Roozbeh and I were both scared, so we got on our motorcycles to flee, and just as we got on our bikes, I saw one of the men on the ground bleeding.
At this point, Nazanin, who was sitting on the defendant’s seat, screamed out: Hamid, why are you lying!?“

No mention of rape attempts (or even threats)? And why Nazanin is accusing him of being a liar?

“After Hamid’s testimony, Roozbeh, Nazanin’s boyfriend, spoke, stating: At 9:00 o’clock in the morning, me, Nazanin and Samieh and Hamid went out to have fun. We were standing in the corner of the park when, suddenly, three young men approach us in a threatening manner and said: What are you doing here? Then they said some really horrible things to Nazanin and humiliated her. One of the men pulled off Nazanin’s headdress and Monteau (Islamic dress), and that’s when Nazanin stabbed the boy once with a knife and injured him, which ultimately led to his death.
Judge Aziz Mohammadi asked Roozbeh: How long had you known Nazanin? Roozbeh responded: 6 months.
Judge: Had Nazanin run away from home?
Roozbeh: Yes, because her stepmother was cruel to her. That is why Nazanin ran away from home and we would meet each other every few days in a half-built building.”

An assault but no rape attempts? and how did she get that “knife” that she used to stab him? Could she be suffering from any mental problems from as a result from being abused at home?

Now let’s hear Nazanin herself ..

“Nazanin: I accept the charge of murder. However, please believe that I did not intend to kill him. I was just trying to defend myself and my niece, Samieh. Roozbeh and Hamid have lied! On that day, my niece, Samieh, who is 16, and I left the house to go shopping for our new years dresses. Samieh said: Let’s go hang out with Hamid and Roozbeh and, later, they will give us a ride to the Bazzar. I accepted. Samieh rode in the back of Hamid’s bike and I rode in the back of Roozbeh’s bike and we all went to have fun. We rode around for three hours, and then Roozbeh said: I want to smoke. So we stood in the corner of a park in Karaj. That is when the three men began to harass us. They told Roozbeh that if he’s looking for an empty house, there is a good location in the park. Bring these two girls to that location so we can be with them! [Please note that neither of the guys have said anything about that] Then, another one of the men threw a rock at Hamid’s bike. Then Mahmood, another one of the guys who were harassing us, went to Samieh and tried to take her away with him by force. When I saw that, I went toward Samieh to rescue her from him. At this time, Roozbeh and Hamid got on their bikes and took off. When Samieh and I were left alone, Yoosef, forced me to the ground, and tore up my Monteau so he could rape me. I took out a knife that I had in my pocket and stabbed him once on his hand. Then, I got up, grabbed Samieh’s hand, and tried to run away. But, those guys were not going to leave us alone. Once again, Yoosef grabbed me. There was no one in that empty street to help us. No matter how much we screamed for help, no one came to our rescue. I had no strength left to save myself and my niece from under these guys, so I grabbed the knife again and stabbed Yoosef in the heart. Mr. Judge, please believe that I tried repeatedly to escape, but those guys had trapped us.
The Judge asked Nazanin: Why is it that a few days before this incident you had run away from home?
Nazanin: Mr. Judge, please believe that Roozbeh lied to you! I have never run away from my home.
Judge: During questioning, your father said that it had been 40 days since his daughter, Nazanin, and his grand-daughter, Samieh, had run away from home. They never listen to me. They are not my daughter or granddaughter at all. I am willing to have you kill them!
At this point, Nazanin cried out: THAT IS A LIE! The questioning officer has made all of that up! My father comes to visit me in jail every week.
Judge: Then why is it that he has not show up for his own daughter’s hearing in court today?
Nazanin began to sob uncontrollably, and yelled: I did not want to kill him!! I am not at all a bad-doer. Mr. Judge, what do you want to do with me? I am a girl child! How many times do I have to say that I did this to defend myself and my niece??
Judge: Why were you carrying a knife with you?
Nazanin: For self-defense.
Judge: So every girl should go around, carrying a knife, so she can defend herself?
At this point, the little girl just cried and did not provide an answer to the judge’s question.
Judge: Before getting into a scuffle with those guys, were you ever raped?
Nazanin: No, never.
Judge: Then why is it that the court’s medical examiner has determined that you are not a girl (a virgin)[1]?
Nazanin: THAT IS A LIE!“

Well, she’s accusing everybody of being a liar? Even medical examiners!!So how much can you put in her story being true?

Now I’ll just make some points :

a) The so-called rape attempt is was not even mentioned by witnesses and was only alleged by Nazanin herself, who apparently lies about many things (running away, being a virgin, ?). But this “rape attempt” claim is the main point used to fuel the support campaign for Nazanin! That might teach us a good lesson to do research for oneself and not take somebody’s claims for sure even if those claims are supported by thousands of people..

b) The “support letter” in the MySpace account claims ..
“If I had allowed the rape to take place, I could still be imprisoned or flogged for having sex outside of marriage unless four male witnesses to the actual rape would testify on my behalf“
Under what law? It’s just a plain lie, let’s take a look at Article 67 in the Penal Code Excerpts Relating to Women In Iran ..
“Article 67. If either the adulterer or the adulteress claims to have been under duress while committing the act of adultery, he or she shall not be punished if his or her claim is not otherwise clearly disproved.“

c) I fully support that call for commuting her death sentence (which is what happened later) but not for the “advertised” claims.

Update: Also, according to petitiononline.com’s “Save Nazanin” petition, Iran is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and is therefore under obligation NOT to impose the death penalty on those under the age of 18.

[1] In many middle eastern cultures, a girl being “virgin” is equivalent to having her hymen still intact and not broken from sexual interaction putting aside other factors that might tear it. In such cultures girls strive to keep it safe.

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