Iran's 66th execution this month was a Dutch-Iranian dual national

Zahra Bahrami was hanged in Iran early on Saturday morning, following her involvement in the Ashura protests against the outcome of the 2009 presidential election.

Ms Bahrani, an Iranian-born Dutch citizen who was 46 at the time of her execution, had joined a protest against the government while visiting relatives in the Islamic republic. She was initially charged by the Prosecutor’s Office for Moharebeh (‘war against God’) and ‘security crimes’, including belonging to a monarchist group, establishing an anti-government organisation and spreading anti-Iranian propaganda. 

A subsequent charge of cocaine and opium-smuggling sealed her fate, and earlier this month a death warrant was issued by the Tehran Revolutionary Court. At the time of her execution, the security charges issued in response to Mrs Bahrami’s involvement in the Ashura protests were still unresolved; they were scheduled to be reviewed during the next few months. Her daughter has openly accused Tehran of fabricating the drugs charges against her mother after she was detained for taking part in the Ashura protests:

“She doesn’t even smoke cigarettes, let alone possessing drugs [sic]. How could someone who participates in election gatherings and endangers her life, engage in such actions against her country?”

The Dutch government had repeatedly expressed its concerns about Mrs Bahrami and sought information on her case. When Dutch embassy officials requested access to the prisoner, they were refused on the grounds that the Iranian authorities did not recognise her dual nationality. Mrs Bahrami was therefore denied all consular assistance from the Netherlands. A spokesperson for the Dutch government has referred to the execution as a "shocking act by a barbaric regime" and as a result the county has frozen all diplomatic relations with Iran. The Dutch foreign minister, Uri Rosenthal, is discussing possible measures against Iran by the EU this week.

The case has also thrown some doubt over the status of dual nationals; the Dutch ministry is advising dual nationals to steer clear of Iran, since it would appear that Dutch consular officials would not be granted access to them should they find themselves in need of assistance.

Zahra Bahrami is the 66th person to be hanged in Iran since the beginning of 2011. Catherine Ashton, High Representative of Foreign Policy of the European Union, last week expressed her profound concern over the use of the death penalty and the rate of executions in Iran. She emphasized the EU’s policy of global opposition to capital punishment when decried the “abhorrent practices such as public executions and suspension hanging that continue to be used in contravention of Iran’s international obligations”.

A spokesperson for Iran Human Rights, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, has condemned Mrs Bahrami’s execution, stating:

“We believe Mrs Bahrami’s trial has been unfair, she has been subjected to ill-treatment in the prison and today she became victim of the Iranian regime’s terror machinery…We hope the Dutch government and the EU will take the case seriously and conduct an investigation to find the truth about what happened about Mrs Bahrami.”