March 23, 2014 – Ms. Rayhaneh Jabbari, a 26-year-old woman, is threatened with hanging. She was arrested on the charge of killing a man called Morteza and has spent seven years in prison. Rayhaneh is a decorator. Morteza learns of Rayhaneh’s profession when he accidentally hears her talking in a coffee shop. He subsequently asks Rayhaneh to visit his office for decoration work. Later, they make an appointment to go to Morteza’s office to see the place and evaluate the work.
Following their first meeting, Rayhaneh gets in Morteza’s vehicle to go to his office for the job. On the way to the office Morteza stops at a pharmacy and buys some stuff there. Then he gets in the car and together they drive to Morteza’s office.
Once they arrive, Rayhaneh realizes that the place is not an office but is a deserted house. Morteza puts two glasses of sherbet on the table and immediately locks the door and tells Rayhaneh that she cannot escape! In the scuffle that follows, Rayhaneh hits Morteza in the shoulder with a knife in self-defense and gets away. It has been announced that Morteza died of bleeding. Lab tests indicated that the drink on the table contained anesthetics. Rayhaneh is subsequently arrested and under torture she is forced to confess that the murder had been deliberate and it even had political motives!
Rayhaneh met Morteza seven years ago; a man the same age as her father who went to her to hire her for a job. The deceased, who was a former agent of the intelligence ministry had intended to rape her.
Rayhaneh’s cellmate said that in a short talk with her during the prison day break, she had seen scars of torture on her body and realized she had been beaten to such an extent in order to confess that the murder had had political motives.
Rayhaneh’s mother, an actress teaching drama, is pleading for help from everyone to save her daughter’s life.
Ms. Rayhaneh Jabbari’s lawyer Abdulsamad Khorramshahi has said that the sentence has been finalized and has been sent out to be implemented.
