Zeynab Jalaliyan

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Zeynab Jalalian (Zeynep Celaliyan, Persian: زينب جلاليان‎‎; born 1982 in Maku), is a Kurdish Iranian, often wrongly described as a political activist. She has been convicted a mohareb and sentenced to death by an Islamic Revolutionary Court for allegedly being a member of the Kurdish militant group PJAK, which she denies.[1]

Biography

When Jalalian was ten years old, she ran away from home because her parents would not allow her to go to school. According to her family, she was arrested in July 2007 in the Kurdish city of Kermanshah. She was then transferred to the detention center of the Intelligence Ministry.[2]

Revolution court in Kermanshah conducted a brief trial, without due diligence and proper legal representation, lasting only a few minutes. Based on her alleged membership of a Kurdistan political party, she was accused of fighting God (mohareb) and was given the death penalty. She was ill, due to prison conditions and torture. She did not have any lawyer to defend her. Court told her: “You are a God's enemy and you have to be hanged very soon”. Her death sentence was confirmed by the Iranian Supreme Court in November 2009.[3]

On June 28, 2010, her family stated that in her last phone call, "which was a month ago, Zeynab has mentioned that she is held in Evin Prison”. Since that time, her family or her lawyers had not been able to receive any further information, the authorities responding that her file had been lost.[4]
In an interview in International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran published on July 1, 2010, Iranian lawyer Khalil Bahramian talks about him being refused to visit Ms Jalalian in prison.[5]

End 2009 - mid-2010: Jalalian became the subject of an international campaign against her execution, including videoclips on YouTube.[6]

In 2010, after being incarcerated into section 209 of the Evin prison for five months, and after a meeting with Tehran Public Prosecutor, Jalalian was transferred back to Kermanshah prison.
According to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, Jalalian’s lawyer, Dr. Mohamad Sharif declared in December 2011: “After a long period of follow-up with the Judicial authorities and not being able to receive answers, the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and changed it to life in prison".[7] In Kermanshah prison, Zeynab Jalalian was verbally informed by judicial authorities that her death sentence had been commuted to imprisonment.[8]
09 Jun 2012: Reported in serious health condition but unable to get treatment and care for internal bleeding and intestinal infection, related to injuries sustained under torture, due to a shortage of specialist physicians at Dizel Abad prison, Kermanshah.[9][10]

09 Nov 2013: Ms Jalalian, currently in Dizel Abad prison, Kermanshah, condemned to life imprisonment, has several times asked for her transfer to a prison closer to her former place of residence. The authorities so far have opposed her request. Ms Jalalian, who suffers from digestive illnesses and is losing sight, has been denied medical furlough.[11]

31 May 2014: Ms Jalalian, now the oldest political prisoner in Iran at 32, is on the verge of becoming blind. She is still denied hospital treatment for her eyes condition.[12]

November 2014: Transferred to Khoy prison.[13]

March 2015: A worldwide campaign has been initiated for her release.[14][15] Some campaign sources again refer to Jalalian as a "political activist", a disputed point.

15 May 2015: Her detention is reduced to 15 years.[16][17]

June/July 2015: Several humanitarian groups are campaigning for Jalalian's release, pointing out irregularities in the judicial proceedings leading to her condemnation, harsh treatments she has undergone since, and her urgent need for medical attention.[18][19]
1 Sept. 2015: A number of women's rights activists have signed an open letter demanding the immediate release of Zeynab Jalaliyan [fa] [20]

See also

References

External links