Zahra Bani Yaghoub (Persian: زهرا بنییعقوب, also mentioned in the media as Zahra Bani Ameri;[1] 16 October 1980[2] – 13 October 2007) was an Iranian medical doctor. She died in a prison in Hamedan after she was arrested by the Guidance Patrol. The incident gained attention in the press due to the possible police involvement in her death.[3]
Zahra Bani Yaghoub | |
|---|---|
زهرا بنییعقوب | |
 | |
| Born | 16 October 1980 |
| Died | 13 October 2007 (aged 26) |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Occupation | Medical doctor |
Career
editBorn in Tehran, Bani Yaghoub studied at Tehran University medical school and worked as a volunteer physician in Hamedan province. Zahra Bani Yaghoub was a distinguished young medical doctor and had several recognitions including her top rank in nationwide university entrance examination.[4] The police told her father: "Iran does not need such medical doctors."[4] Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi has taken the case and is currently the official lawyer of Zahra Bani Yaghoub's family.[5]
Death
editIn 2007, Iranian police launched a "Public Security Plan and Moralization Campaign". Many Iranian citizens including many women were arrested and questioned for "un-Islamic" behavior. That same year, Zahra was sitting on a park bench with her fiancé when Iranian police arrested the couple. This was considered by the Iranian judiciary to be a breach of modesty laws because the two were not yet married.[6] They were taken to jail and held in separate cells, and Yaghoub died under custody the following day.[7] Iranian officials claimed that the victim committed suicide by hanging herself.[8] However the lawyer did not accept the claims and requested investigations.[9]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Kosoof – Arash Ashoorinia's Photography – 23 November 2007
- ^ آفتاب – مرگ مشکوک پزشک جوان را پیگیری کنید
- ^ Seeking Justice for Zahra Bani Yaghoub
- ^ a b gooya news :: politics : روايتی ديگر از مرگ زهرا بنی عامری، دکتر زهرا به قتل رسيده يا خودکشی کرده است؟ کانون زنان
- ^ روزنامه سرمايه
- ^ Ottolenghi, Emanuele (2010). Iran: the Looming Crisis: Can the West live with Iran's nuclear threat?. Profile Books. p. 146. ISBN 9781847654571.
- ^ Penketh, Anne (7 June 2008). "Iran's brutal morality police are growing in power, warns Nobel Prize-winner". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ Najibullah, Farangis (23 November 2007). "Iran: Female Doctor's Prison Death Causes Public Outcry". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ "خبر | روزآنلاین » وکیل زهرا بنی عامری:خواستار تحقیقات بیشتر شده ایم". Zanestan. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
External links
edit- Iran: Female Doctor's Prison Death Causes Public Outcry
- (in Persian) It is unbelievable! by Masoud Behnoud
- (in Persian) BBC article