Iran delays execution of woman accused of killing her rapist

TEHRAN, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The Sept. 30 scheduled execution of an Iranian woman for allegedly killing her rapist has been postponed for 10 days.

Although it is unclear why Iranian officials decided to postpone Reyhaneh Jabbari's execution, Amnesty International speculated that it was "possibly in response to the public outcry" following a Facebook post by Jabbari's mother on Sept. 29, after receiving word from her daughter that the execution would be carried out the next day.

The 26-year-old was sentenced to death by hanging after being convicted of murdering Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former Ministry of Intelligence and Security employee, in 2007.

Human rights organizations questioned Iran's investigation and prosecution of Jabbari's case.

The U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement in April that Jabbari, who was working for Sarbandi as an interior designer, acted in self defense after being sexually assaulted.

Amnesty International published its own understanding of the incident, noting that "Reyhaneh Jabbari admitted to stabbing the man once in the back, but claimed she had done so after he had tried to sexually abuse her. She also maintained that a third person in the house had been involved in the killing. These claims, if proven, could exonerate her but are believed never to have been properly investigated, raising many questions about the circumstances of the killing."

Amnesty and Jabbari's supporters on Facebook have launched a campaign asking the public to write to Iranian officials and ask them not to execute Jabbari and to order a retrial without the possibility of the death penalty.