No Verdicts Yet
August 30, 2006 was Nazanin Fatehi's retrial; however no verdict was announced. The trial was supposed to start at 10:30 AM but there was a half hour delay. The trial lasted until 12:30 PM with a short break in between. The alleged rapist's family were not present. Nazanin was present with her family and three lawyers.
Nazanin Fatehi told the Judge that she has been honest from the very beginning. She extended her arm out to the Judge and said that it was she herself that came forward and gave the knife to the police at the scene of the offence and told them that she stabbed the man in self defence to protect her honour. She directly asked the Judge what he would have done faced with three attackers. He did not have an answer.
Nazanin's mother Maryam spoke during the trial and showed her discontent with how the officials had made Nazanin sign her own death sentence a few months back. She told them that Nazanin has no education and that she could not read or understand the papers they made her sign. She was asked to leave the court, as she was crying a lot during and after Nazanin's trial. Nazanin's father stood up and told the court that he had something to say. He said that it had been announced in many newspapers that Nazanin was a run-away and that he had told the Judges to go ahead with the execution. He told the Judge that he had never made such claims and that it was important for this information to be cleared for the sake of his family. The Judge said that these claims were written in their reports. Nazanin's father requested the Judge look in the files and see who made such allegations. When they verified their file they agreed that he was right and that no such claims were made.
No judgement was made and they announced that another court date would be set. According to Etemaad newspaper's report of the re-trial, Samieh Nazanin's niece also testified in her favor. Nazanin's re-trial was scheduled for January 10, 2007. Nazanin Afshin-Jam made a video appeal to Iranian Officials only 5 days to the re-trial. She also released a documentary titled "The Tale of Two Nazanins". It featured Nazanin's family in Iran and an emotional phone conversation with Nazanin Fatehi from her prison.
Read more about this topic: Nazanin Fatehi, Re-trial Court Ended
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“Let judges secretly despair of justice: their verdicts will be more acute. Let generals secretly despair of triumph; killing will be defamed. Let priests secretly despair of faith: their compassion will be true.”
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