[h=2]Jabbari’s death sentence was a big cause of controversy.[/h]
Amnesty International and a number of other human rights organizations in the West saw the case as an example of gender inequality and judiciary corruption in Iran, arguing that Jabbari was not guilty of murder.
“We are devastated that Reyhaneh was denied justice and are deeply saddened that a family has lost their daughter today,” Sunjeev Bery, the Middle East and North Africa Advocacy Director for Amnesty International told BuzzFeed News in an email. “The death penalty is a horrific form of punishment that should never be used in Iran, or anywhere else.”
In a statement prior to the hanging that was emailed to BuzzFeed News, Amnesty International called the conviction “a deeply flawed investigation and trial is an affront to justice.”
The trial was also controversial within Iran. President Hassan Rouhani tried to repeal Jabbari’s death sentence, and earlier this month ago the justice minister, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, said that he was making attempts to revoke the sentence and that he could see a “good ending” for the case. In the Iranian Constitution, however, the justice minister has no power over the judiciary system.
Sarbandi’s family could have also saved Jabbari by accepting “blood money,” or money paid to them by her family, but chose not to do so. Iranian media reported that the victim’s family wanted to hold up the Islamic principle of “an eye for an eye” since Jabbari had publicly accused Sarbandi of being a rapist, the Associated Press reported.
Iran has the second highest number of executions worldwide, ranked only after China, with over 600 people sentenced to death in 2013.
