Nazanin Fatehi

Iranian woman

Nazanin (Mahabad) Fatehi (نازنین فاتحی; born 1987) is an Iranian woman who was sentenced to death for stabbing a man who allegedly tried to rape her and her 15 year old niece, events occurring when she herself was a 17 year old. After more than two years in jail, Fatehi was cleared of intentional murder, ordered to pay diyeh (blood money for the death), and released on bail (January 2007). As of 2012, Fatehi's whereabouts were reported to be unknown to concerned supporters outside of Iran.

Nazanin Fatehi and the niece involved in the event leading to Fatehi's arrest, also a minor, are described as being "from an economically deprived Kurdish family" living in "abysmal poverty". Reports of family life include "a mother who [felt] that she was cursed to give birth to a girl" and the expectation that Nazanin would remain uneducated and care for siblings, and a father addicted to opium, with references to physical and psychological abuse from parents and a male sibling, and childhood sexual abuse by a family acquaintance. there, per the Amnesty International description of the case, a "group of youths surrounded the girls and tried to rape them". The men were alleged to have pushed Fatehi and her niece to the ground and attempted the sexual assault; the defendant then reportedly took a knife from her pocket, trying to protect herself, and stabbed one of the men in the hand. According to Fatehi, as reported in the Etemaad article, the girls then tried to escape but the men overtook them; at this point Fatehi stabbed one of the male attackers in the chest (a wound that eventually led to his death), fled the scene for a police location, and reported the incident. by a criminal court of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The verdict was death by hanging. In response to their review of the facts of the case, Amnesty International began to lobby on behalf of Fatehi. "I think cases like this are illustrative of the fact there is a serious human rights crisis in Iran; the death penalty, discrimination against women and a whole host of other concerns. It really is time for the international community to put those issues right at the top of the agenda", said Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada. In this and others public statements, Amnesty International addressed its concerns about the Fatehi case. Musician, activist, and former Iranian Miss World Canada Nazanin Afshin Jam initiated an appeal, the "Save Nazanin Campaign", starting a petition that attracted more than 350,000 signatures worldwide (January 2007), in an effort to save Fatehi's life. Negar Azmudeh, a Vancouver based immigration lawyer, helped the Campaign, arguing that the case demonstrated the unjust treatment of women in Iran. Azmudeh told Canadian Television (CTV) that had Fatehi been killed by a man, he would likely not have received a death sentence "[b]ecause the value of his life would be twice as much as Nazanin's." The aforementioned petition regarding the Fatehi case was directed at Mr. Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations. Following a meeting at the UN between Nazanin Afshin Jam and UN high commissioner Louise Arbour, the UN contacted the Iranian government regarding the Fatehi case. In relation to the international appeal effort, Fatehi gave an interview in 2006, via questionnaire, to Ms. Afshin Jam. Ms. Afshin Jam also addressed Canadian parliament members regarding the matter on 5 June 2006, and MP Belinda Stronach rose in the House of Commons of Canada during Question Period to ask the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter MacKay to confirm that he had received assurances from the Iranian embassy that a new trial was ordered for Fatehi.

Fatehi's case was scheduled to be reviewed by the Iranian Supreme Court the week following the original conviction. Her time in prison, initially for six months before the overturn of her sentence, but stretching eventually to two years, includes reports of being drugged and beaten. No judgement was made at the first convening of the retrial, and the court announced a continuance scheduled for 10 January 2007. After brief delays, the trial began with many observers in the courtroom, and two of Fatehi's defense attorneys proceeding with their defense. The re trial ended on 14 January with a unanimous decision by the five judges, appealed the court decision regarding the payment of diyeh (see above), and made arrangements for Fatehi to be released from prison on bail. The amount of bail was on the order of ≈US$40–50,000 (400–465 million rials), On 31 January 2007, Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi was released on bail. In April 2007, Nazanin's attorney filed objection to the part of the verdict that required Nazanin Fatehi to pay the retribution.

As of July 2012, the whereabouts of Fatehi were reported as unknown by individuals in the West with whom she had prior contact, with current contact being only the most sporadic. A book from Canadian supporter and activist Nazanin Afshin Jam appeared in 2012 chronicling the divergent lives of these two Iranian Nazanins, whose lives intersected during the period of Fatehi's trial; media responses to the book were generally positive.