Iran

Iranian woman Khadijeh Jahed, known as "Shahla" (1), was executed by hanging this morning in Tehran. Commenting on the hanging, Green MEP and chair of the European Parliament's Iran delegation, Barbara Lochbihler said:

"The hanging of Khadijeh Jahed is an act of inhumane and cruel punishment, which should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. In doing so, the Iranian authorities have ignored the protests of many activists, politicians and human rights groups against her execution. It is truly sad that Iranhas become the country with the highest number of executions per capita. There are still hundreds of Iranians on death row, waiting for their execution in terrible prison conditions. The Iranian authorities should not allow this situation to continue and should cancel all scheduled executions."

(1) Shahla Jahed, who had contracted a temporary marriage with Nasser Mohammad-Khani, a former Iranian national football player and former manager of a team in Tehran, was accused of stabbing to death Laleh Saharkhizan, her husband's permanent wife, on 9 October 2002. She "confessed" to the killing in pre-trial detention after 11 months in detention but withdrew her "confession" in court. The head of the judiciary in Iran stated in early 2008 that there had been "procedural flaws" in her case and that it is necessary to reinvestigate her case.