Detektor, a programme of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, highlights President Obama's favourite phrase of praise for Presidents and Prime Ministers: his/her country "punches above its weight" in international relations.
But Detektor asks, "Is it possible to feel special when each and every visitor is the 'closest, strongest ally'?":
The execution on Saturday of the Dutch-Iranian citizen, Zahra Bahrami, is clear evidence of the failure of quiet diplomacy by the Government of the Netherlands.
The protection of human rights and quiet diplomacy do not have have anything in common. Human rights organizations focusing on Iran have long been saying that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran pressures individuals and governments to keep quiet. When governments use quiet diplomacy to try and negotiate with the IRI. they are falling into a trap.
This is not a call for an end to diplomacy. The point is that the time is long overdue to make some noise. Human Rights organizations and defenders have been saying this for years.
HRANA reports that the Dutch-Iranian national Zahra Bahrami, arrested just after the Ashura demonstrations of December 2009, was put to death this morning on the charge of drug possession.
Bahrami, who had returned to Iran before Ashura to see her daughter, was in legal limbo for months before Dutch authorities realised she was one of their citizens. Tehran refused to let them see her, however, as it does not recognise dual nationality.
Initally Bahrami was charged with "mohareb" (war against God), but Iranian officials shifted the emphasis to her alleged possession of a kilogramme (2.2 pounds) of cocaine. No evidence was ever produced to support the claim.
Bahrami lost her lawyer last autumn when Nasrin Sotoudeh was imprisoned.This week the Netherlands Government appointed two lawyers to represent Bahrami, but Tehran did not follow up on its declaration that Bahrami would be tried on the "mohareb" charge before any sentence was carried out. Indeed, it appears that there was no appeal allowed on the penalty for the drugs conviction.
For further details, see "Iran, Political Prisoners, & New Media: Discovering The Case of Zahra Bahrami" (August 2010), "Iran Snapshot: Death Sentence Handed Down on Iranian-Dutch National Zahra Bahrami" (6 January 2011), and "Iran Interview: Daughter of Condemned Zahra Bahrami 'A Political Death Sentence'" (13 January 2011). And for analysis, read Dave Siavashi's "What the Executions Say About the Regime's 'Control' and Murder" (26 January 2011).
UPDATE 1645 GMT: Radio Farda reports that Zahra Bahrami had a visit from her daughter, Banafsheh Nayebpour, on Tuesday. "I was allowed to meet her...at Evin [Prison] for about 20 minutes and I could tell that she was extremely scared," Nayebpour said.
“The death sentence issued to my mother is completely political and I implore people, the media, and all human rights activists to not believe the fabricated and trumped-up charge of ‘possession of narcotics’ [levelled against my mother]. The accusation is meant to distract and deceive people to believe the reason behind the death sentence is ‘possession of drugs’ so they refrain from supporting and helping us.”
Monday, March 26, 2012 at 8:41