In February 2003, Mandana Nik-khou Monfared (25) was sentenced to death for the murder of Masoud Khazi, a man she intended to wed after her divorce. According to the newspaper Hadeseh, Mandana Nik-khou Monfared plead guilty to premeditated murder when taken into police custody in September 2002, and reportedly had no lawyer to act on her behalf. She later retracted her confession and changed her plea to innocent, expressing that she was frightened and unsure of her statements at the initial interrogation. Mandana asserts that she witnessed her current husband shoot Khazi when he discovered she was to remarry after a consensual divorce. To date, no other suspects are under investigation for Khazi's murder. 

Mandana's death sentence was passed by Iran's Supreme Court and is currently under review by the Tehran Criminal Court Unit for Enforcement of Judgements. After confirmation by Iran's Supreme Court, the death sentence may be revoked if the heirs of Masoud Khazi drop their right to impose the death penalty upon Mandana and alternatively ask for "diyeh," or the payment of blood money. The Head of the Judiciary may also reverse a death sentence if the final verdict is flawed. Mandana's nine-year-old- son published a letter in the Shargh newspaper addressing the Head of the Judiciary, pleading for his mother's release: "We do not have a father and only have our mother. We ask you to let her come home to us...Our mother is innocent." Additionally, Mandana's father is attempting to appeal for a retrial, and requesting the Iranian government further investigate his daughter's case and sentence.

TAKE ACTION! Call on Iranian leaders and officials to commute Mandana Nik-khou Monfared's death sentence immediately.

ACT NOW:
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=642407&l=8173