Urgent Action to Save the Life of Kobra Rahmanpour

Date: 14 September 2006

For Immediate Release
To: The President of the European Parliament,
       The Members of the European Parliament
To: All Women and Human Rights Organisations
Re: Death Penalty sentence for Kobra Rahmanpoor

Kobra Rahmanpoor is just few steps far from death by execution. Her sentence was confirmed again and she is waiting to be executed in the coming days. Kobra was sentenced to death for the murder of her mother-in-law in 2000. She acted in self-defence after her mother-in-law tried to attack her with a kitchen knife. Kobra was 20 years old when she married a 63 years old man. Kobra was forced into marriage against her will by her parents, and had been subjected to unbearable level of domestic violence since her marriage. She is currently held in a prison in Tehran.. If Kobra is still alive it is only because of the international pressure and domestic support for her case.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has the unenviable reputation for the high number of death sentences including execution by firing squad, hanging and stoning to death. The victims have indiscriminatingly been women, men and children. These indiscriminate killings are all well documented by independent international institutions including the Amnesty International. The Amnesty International has confirmed the fact that Iran is a country with the highest rate of death penalty. Many of the death sentences have been handed out under the Islamic Sharia Law without proper consideration for the circumstances under which these alleged crimes were committed. Some of the victims are helpless women who have acted in self-defence and committed the alleged crimes under extreme pressure.

We urge you to take immediate actions to save the life of a young woman and stop this tragic death and this barbaric action to take place.