Daily Mail Echoes Execution of Bride Accused of Murder as a Teenager

Daily Mail reported: The death sentence of Zeinab Sekaanvand was carried out two days after she delivered a stillborn child. Zeinab had married another inmate while awaiting execution of her death sentence.

Zeinab Sekaanvand was forced into marriage at age 15 with a husband who abused her. After confessing under torture at age 17, she was imprisoned in 1391 (2012) on charges of murdering her husband.

The execution of this 24-year-old girl could not be carried out due to her pregnancy, and immediately after she gave birth, authorities issued the execution order in Urmia.

Amnesty International had warned Iran several days before Zeinab Sekaanvand’s execution, as she was deprived of a fair judicial process.

Amnesty International tweeted following the execution news: “This morning, 24-year-old Zeinab was executed in Iran. She was a teenager when arrested and was convicted after an unjust trial. She said that police officers had tortured her in detention.”

Zeinab was detained for 20 days at a police station after killing her husband and was subjected to beatings by male officers before confessing to her husband’s murder.

According to Amnesty International, Zeinab’s husband had physically and verbally abused her for months and refused her divorce request.

“Human Rights Watch” states that during the trial proceedings, Zeinab’s claims about being beaten and subjected to her husband’s abusive behavior were not accepted.

Amnesty International reported Zeinab’s lack of access to a lawyer and noted that the court did not provide a legitimate report on Zeinab’s “mental development and maturity.”

When Zeinab turned 18, she was deprived of the right to appeal based on a court ruling. She could have requested a retrial based on amendments to criminal laws since the trial took place when she was below the legal age.

Iran, as a signatory to the “Convention on the Rights of the Child,” is obligated to declare the death sentence for suspects under 18 years old as unlawful.

Source: Voice of America