Iranian Ambassador Gharib Abadi was informed of the sanctions after he confirmed reports that Zahra Bahrami, 45, was executed. She had participated in protests against Iran's disputed presidential election in 2009.
Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal was "shocked, shattered by this act by a barbaric regime," said spokesman Bengt van Loosdrecht, especially since Abadi had assured the Dutch minister on Friday that Bahrami's legal avenues had not yet been exhausted.
Iran Hangs Dutch Woman Arrested after Protests
Reuters | Jan 29
An Iranian-Dutch woman, arrested after taking part in anti-government protests in Iran in 2009, has been hanged for drug smuggling, the semi-official Mehr news agency said on Saturday.
"A woman smuggler named Zahra Bahrami, daughter of Ali, has been hanged today for the possession and selling of narcotics," Mehr reported, quoting the court.
The 45-year-old woman's daughter was quoted by the rights group International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran as saying the drug charges were fabricated after Bahrami was arrested for taking part in protests in December 2009.
Iran Hangs Iranian-Dutch Woman for Drug Smuggling
AFP (via Vancouver Sun) | Jan 28
The prosecutor's office confirmed on Saturday that she had been arrested for "security crimes."
But elaborating on her alleged drug smuggling, the office said Bahrami had used her Dutch connections to smuggle narcotics into Iran.
"The convict, a member of an international drug gang, smuggled cocaine to Iran using her Dutch connections and had twice shipped and distributed cocaine inside the country," it said.
During a search of her house, authorities found 450 grams of cocaine and 420 grams of opium, the office said, adding that investigations revealed she had sold 150 grams of cocaine in Iran.
Lawyer in Shock over Dutch-Iranian Client's Execution: 'Her Investigation Was Not Yet Complete'
ICHRI | Jan 29
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran was able to contact Bahrami's lawyer, Jinoos Sharif Razi in Tehran. [She] was not aware of the execution. "I am shocked. I was absolutely not informed about this. They should have informed her lawyer of the execution, but I had no idea. I don't know what to say. Just that I am shocked," she said.
An informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that during Zahra Bahrami's detention, her interrogation team was the Iranian Intelligence Ministry's Anti-Espionage Team. Therefore the possibility that her initial charges were drug-related is nil. According to the said source, during her first few weeks of detention in prison, Zahra Bahrami was physically and psychologically tortured to provide televised confessions according to a pre-written scenario.
Jinoos Sharif told the Campaign that the Iranian Judiciary has not yet reviewed the security charges waged against her client. "I am bewildered as to how my client's death sentence was issued while her security charges had not yet been reviewed."
"My mother always says that the confessions extracted from her and her participation in a television interview were all done under duress, and that she was forced to do it, as they had promised to help her. Unfortunately, she was not helped at all," Zahra Bahrami's daughter told the Campaign last week. Asked whether her mother transported drugs during her visits to Iran, her daughter said: "As her daughter, I do not accept any of these accusations. My mother said in court that because she was under pressure during the interrogations, she was made to say those things. My mother is not interested in such things at all. She doesn't even smoke cigarettes, let alone possessing drugs. How could someone who participates in [post-] election gatherings and endangers her life, engage in such actions against her country?"
See also: Report of execution in Farsi (Human Rights Activists News Agency) | "Daughter of Ashura Death Row Prisoner: Mom's False Confessions Based on Promise of Release" (Rah-e Sabz [Jaras] via Persian2English) | "Zahra Bahrami's Upcoming Trial and Possible Death Sentence" (Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran via Persian2English)
@'Tehran Bureau'
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