Fatemeh Salabi Executed in Adelabad Prison of Shiraz

Amnesty International announced that Fatemeh Salabi, who was arrested in 2009 at the age of 17 on charges of murdering her husband, was executed on Tuesday after serving six years in prison at Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. Some media outlets and human rights organizations had reported on Monday the possibility of her imminent execution, as she was transferred to solitary confinement and her family was informed that they could visit her for a final meeting at Adelabad Prison. Fatemeh Salabi was sentenced to qisas (retribution) in 2010, and the Supreme Court confirmed and finalized her sentence in 2011. However, two years ago, based on a new law known as the 'Islamic Penal Code,' Fatemeh was retried. Since Fatemeh was underage at the time of the crime, a provision in this law allows for the death penalty to be waived if the accused is deemed to lack 'mental maturity,' allowing for a punishment other than death. Raha Bahreini from Amnesty International told Radio Farda that from the beginning, doctors had indicated that Fatemeh was suffering from depression, and in the appeals court, it was not the doctors and psychologists but the judge who assessed the accused's 'growth and mental maturity' with a few questions. According to Ms. Bahreini, 'The death penalty is always a cruel punishment, but its application, especially for those who were underage at the time of the crime, is even more horrifying.' Amnesty International stated that it is regrettable that 20 years after Iran's accession to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, such executions continue to take place in Iran.