From The Independent:
A teenage girl with a mental age of eight is facing the death penalty for prostitution in Iran. The trial comes only four months after the hanging of another mentally ill girl for sex before marriage in a case that has prompted a human rights lawyer to prepare a charge of wrongful execution against the presiding judge.The girl, known as Leyla M, is in prison while the Supreme Court decides on her "acts contrary to chastity", among the most serious charges under Iranian law. Under the penal code, girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15 can be executed.
In an interview on a Persian-language website, the 19-year-old says she was forced into prostitution by her mother at the age of eight. Amnesty International refers to reports that say she was repeatedly raped, bore her first child aged nine and was passed from pimp to pimp before having another three children.
[...]
Her prosecution echoes the fate of an even younger girl, Atefeh Rajabi, executed in August. In her case a judge known as Hajj Rezai reportedly put the noose around her neck himself after convicting her on the basis of her confessions for the fourth time in two years. She begged for her life while being led to the gallows, shouting "repentance".
Shadi Sadr, a human rights lawyer representing Atefeh's family, has filed a suit of wrongful execution against the judiciary and is preparing a murder case against Mr Rezai after uncovering new evidence. She has found documents seen by The Independent that prove Atefeh was mentally ill and her confessions should not have been used.
[...]
People in Atefeh's neighbourhood wrote two petitions - one before her conviction and one afterwards - affirming that she suffered from mental illness and begging for leniency. Ms Sadr has been unable to locate the defence lawyer in the case.
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Article comments
1 - Shark
re: Iran (aka "Barbaria")
"...sadly, I suspect it cannot be adequately resolved short of military action."
Come on, RJ, don't be so coy.
Admit it: you get a hard-on just thinkin' about another "Mission Accomplished".
2 - jadester
OK, jibes aside, I agree that Iran cannot be left to its own devices, but I really don't think it wise for another military action against such a fiercely Islamic country as Iran. Especially considering the current state of Iraq - neither the UK or the US has given me any confidence in their ability to organise and run such an invasion
3 - SFC Ski
If more young Iranians continue to grow more disenchanted with the Mullocracy, the Revolution of '79 may just get another similar reenactment, but this time for the better.
4 - MCH
"Sadly, I suspect it cannot be adequately resolved short of military action."
This may yet be another chance to put your money where your mouth is, RJ. It's called E-N-L-I-S-T-I-N-G. The ranks of our armed forces are wearing thinner daily and they're looking for just your type - courageous, bellicose, able-bodied.
Surely a "defense hawk" like yourself can't sit back much longer (in the safety of your college dorm) while someone else fights your battles for you?
I read the other day where another young female soldier was killed over there. How does it feel, RJ, knowing that there are 115-pound women braver than yourself...?