Iran Breaking: Dutch-Iranian National Zahra Bahrami is Executed

HRANA reports that the Dutch-Iranian national Zahra Bahrami, arrested just after the Ashura demonstrations of December 2009, was put to death this morning on the charge of drug possession.

Bahrami, who had returned to Iran before Ashura to see her daughter, was in legal limbo for months before Dutch authorities realised she was one of their citizens. Tehran refused to let them see her, however, as it does not recognise dual nationality. 

Initally Bahrami was charged with "mohareb" (war against God), but Iranian officials shifted the emphasis to her alleged possession of a kilogramme (2.2 pounds) of cocaine. No evidence was ever produced to support the claim.

Bahrami lost her lawyer last autumn when Nasrin Sotoudeh was imprisoned.This week the Netherlands Government appointed two lawyers to represent Bahrami, but Tehran did not follow up on its declaration that Bahrami would be tried on the "mohareb" charge before any sentence was carried out. Indeed, it appears that there was no appeal allowed on the penalty for the drugs conviction.

For further details, see "Iran, Political Prisoners, & New Media: Discovering The Case of Zahra Bahrami" (August 2010), "Iran Snapshot: Death Sentence Handed Down on Iranian-Dutch National Zahra Bahrami" (6 January 2011), and "Iran Interview: Daughter of Condemned Zahra Bahrami 'A Political Death Sentence'" (13 January 2011). And for analysis, read Dave Siavashi's "What the Executions Say About the Regime's 'Control' and Murder" (26 January 2011).