Family pardons woman who killed would-be rapist

An Iranian woman sentenced to death for killing a police chief who tried to rape her has been pardoned by the victim’s family.

The family of Behzad Moghaddam has agreed to €47,000 compensation rather than seeking the execution of Afsaneh Nowrouzi, said a judiciary official.

Nowrouzi, now 34, stabbed Moghaddam to death in 1997, cutting off his penis and placing it on his chest.

She said she was defending herself against rape by Moghaddam, the police chief on the the Persian Gulf tourist island of Kish.

The Kish court rejected the self-defence claim and sentenced Nowrouzi to death, raising an outcry from women activists and attracting the attention of international groups who sought to overturn the sentence.

Under pressure, Iran’s head of judiciary Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi ordered a stay of the verdict and Moghaddam’s family this week agreed to a monetary compensation rather than Nowrouzi’s execution.

Nowrouzi’s lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, said she had never sought mercy because she believed she had justly defended herself.

“The victim’s family members did a good thing signing documents not calling for Nowrouzi’s death despite my client’s refusal to request mercy,” he said.

Woman activist and lawyer Sara Irani praised the resolution of the case.

“Nowrouzi’s freedom will give new breath to women to find the courage to stand up for their rights and defend themselves,” Irani said.

In Iran, if a married woman is raped she can be convicted of adultery and sentenced to death. If she kills the attempted rapist, she can be tried for murder and also sentenced to death.