Iranian rape victim to be hanged unless

she apologizes for sex assault claims

Interior designer Reyhaneh Jabbari killed Moreteza Abdolai Sarbandi after
Jabbari was called to do some for work and was allegedly assaulted by
Sarbandi. Now his 26-year-old son, who has the power to grant clemency,
says he will only do so if she exposes her true intentions and reveals who he
says was the second man present at the scene.
An Iranian rape victim is set to be hanged unless she agrees to apologize to
her attacker's family for making the claim of sexual assault.
Interior designer Reyhaneh Jabbari killed Moreteza Abdolai Sarbandi after he
lured her to a flat on the pretense of work, but then attacked her.
Sarbandi, an Iranian intelligence agent, had apparently offered to hire Jabbari
to redesign his office and took her to an apartment where he abused her,
reports The Telegraph.
Jabbari, 26, claims the killing was an act of self-defense. She stabbed him
after the assault.
Jabbari was 19 at the time of the attack in 2007.
She was convicted of his murder at a subsequent trial after confessing, which
many claim was extracted under intense pressure, and sentenced to hanging.
But Sarbandi's family claims she is lying about her version of events, reports
The Telegraph.
Iran's Islamic based legal system gives the family of victims the right to
grant clemency in capital punishment sentences but Sarbandi's son, Jalal has
demanded that Jabbari must change her version of events if she hopes to live.
However, Sarbandi's son, Jalal, has demanded she change her version of
events if she wants to live.
"Only when her true intentions are exposed and she tells the truth about her
accomplice and what really went down will we be prepared to grant mercy,"
he was reported as saying by The Telegraph.
The son says there was another man in the apartment at the time of his
father's death and that Jabbari had sent a text to her boyfriend saying she
would kill Sarbandi.
The hanging could take place within weeks
This issue came just days after a young Iranian man convicted of murder
escaped a hangman's noose in Iran when his victim's mother intervened,

slapping him in the face and declaring forgiveness.

The UN says that more than 170 people have been executed in Iran since the
beginning of 2014.
Jabbari's case has triggered domestic and international condemnation.
Iranian actors and other prominent figures have launched an appeal against
her execution.
The United Nations and several international rights groups say Jabbari's
confession was obtained under intense pressure and threats from Iranian
prosecutors.
Ahmed Shaheed, the UN's human rights rapporteur on Iran, said on Monday
that her trial had been deeply flawed and apparently acted in self-defence.
"The Iranian authorities should review her case and refer it back to court for a
re-trial, ensuring the defendant's right to due process which is guaranteed
under both Iranian law and international law," said Shaheed