ONTROVERSIAL CASE ENDS IN IRAN
On death row for killing rapist, she'll be freed for $100,000
SHE was sentenced to death for killing a police chief as he raped
her at a resort.
But now Iranian mother-of-two Afsaneh Nowrouzi is set to be
freed.
The officer's family has agreed to accept US$62,500 ($102,000) in
cash compensation in lieu of their right under Iranian law to
insist she be put to death.
The deal ends a seven-year legal wrangle that sparked outrage among
women's activists both within Iran and around the world.
Nowrouzi, now 34, stabbed Moghaddam to death in 1997. She also cut
off his penis and placed it on his chest.
She claimed she was defending herself as Moghaddam raped her.
At the time, Moghaddam was the police chief on the tourist island
of Kish.
In Iran, a married woman who is raped can be convicted of adultery
and sentenced to death. If she kills the rapist, she can be tried
for murder and sentenced to death.
The Kish court rejected Nowrouzi's self-defence claim and sentenced
her to death in 2001, sparking international outcry.
In response, Iran's head judge, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi
Shahroudi, ordered an indefinite stay of that verdict last
year.
Judiciary officials then urged Moghaddam's mother and his two
children to show mercy to Nowrouzi - which Nowrouzi's lawyer said
she would never ask for.
DIDN'T WANT MERCY
'The victim's family members did a good thing... despite my
client's refusal to request mercy,' Mr Abdolsamad Khorramshahi
said.
Under Iranian law, the death penalty is waived once the victim's
family agrees to a cash settlement. Nowrouzi will be freed
soon.
Prominent activist Sara Irani commented: 'Nowrouzi's freedom will
give new breath to women to find the courage to stand up for their
rights and defend themselves.' - AP.
