EARTHWARD
Nazanin Freed!
Turn your vision earthward -
'Tis we must lend
a hand.
Having been raped before, Nazanin Fatehi had resorted to carrying a
knife for self-defense when she walked through her neighborhood in a
Tehran suburb. At seventeen, while walking through a park near
her
home, she was again attacked by three men, and used the knife to
protect herself and her fifteen year old neice, who was accompanying
her. One of the attackers was seriously injured and died.
When she reported the incident at a nearby police station, the police
took immediate action. Acting under Shariah law, under which a
woman's life is worth half that of a man's, they promptly arrested and
incarcerated Nazanin on charges of murder. She was then convicted
and sentenced to death.
For more than two years, she remained in jail, while the
sentence was appealed. During that time, her case coincidentally
came to the attention of another Nazanin, Iranian born Canadian Nazanin
Afshin-Jam, who used her rapidly rising popularity as a musician to
bring international scrutiny to bear on the case, and on the officials
who were prosecuting it. With the focus of the world upon them,
the judges hearing the appeal eventually ruled that Nazanin was not
guilty of murder, but used excessive force in her self-defence.
Though she is required to pay a large sum of "blood money" to the
family of the deceased attacker, her death sentance has been
overturned, and she has been freed from prison. The decision to require
payment of "blood money", is now also under appeal.
We heartily applaud Ms. Afshin-Jam for her tireless efforts to
help Nazanin Fatehi (not to mention her many other humanitarian
endeavours), and those who responded to her appeals by signing
petitions, and sending donations and messages of encouragements.
Many further details of this case are available here:
http://www.helpnazanin.com/
http://www.myspace.com/nazaninmusic