On Sunday, 13 April 2014, activists in Washington DC gathered in front of the offices of the Islamic Republic of Iran, joining the global protest against the imminent execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari.
Reyhaneh Jabbari, age 26, fought off the sexual advances of a would-be rapist, killing him in self-defense. The person she defended herself against was Morteza Sarbandi, a politically-connected member of the regime.
Despite the fact that evidence at the scene demonstrated Morteza’s intention to drug and rape Reyhaneh, she was nevertheless charged with murder, tortured until she confessed, and then sentenced to execution by hanging. Her execution is now imminent.
Reyhaneh had the right to defend herself against rape and should not have been prosecuted for murder. But the anti-woman Islamic regime in Iran has targeted women from the moment it took power through counterrevolution in 1979, and continues to do so today.
Reyhaneh’s execution sentence, like all execution sentences, is intended to terrorize the population, especially women. It demonstrates this regime’s need to kill and repress in order to stay in power.
Mission Free Iran, Unity for Democracy and Justice in Iran, and Mohammad Moslehi coordinated the action, which was comprised of chants against the regime, demands to free Reyhaneh, demands to stop all executions in Iran, and demands for women’s equality in Iran.
The two organizations read their respective statements; the statement of Mission Free Iran appears below:
Everybody knows that the Islamic Regime’s life depends on executions. This is not news. The fact that the reformists, the sponsored government, Rohani’s government, increased the number of executions, is proof of the above.
What is new is the anti-execution movement in Iran, which involves thousands of human beings and organizations and associations. It is new that a filmmaker pays the blood money and saves the life of a young boy by announcing that the sales of the film will be used to stop the execution. It is news that Iran’s artists and filmmakers and poets stand with Reyhaneh and demand her freedom.
These are new developments, and news of them makes our hearts warm and our souls proud. Without execution, the Islamic Republic will cease to exist. We are certain of this, and we hope for it.
We demand a halt to the execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari; all executions must stop.
Long live revolution.
Down with the Islamic Republic of Execution.
برای ایران آزاد mission free iran 
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