IRANIAN MEDICAL STUDENT “COMMITS SUICIDE” By Judith A. Klinghoffer
Thousands of Iranians have been [detained] by the Sharia policy in Iran’s latest “morality” crackdown. Most are quickly released, we are assured. Well, some, like Zahra, a 27 year old medical student end up with a noose around their necks.Kamangir [/size]reports:
Zahra Bani Ameri (زهرا بنی عامری), a twenty-seven-year-old medical student, committed suicide in a prison in Hamedan Province, after she was arrested by the Sharia Police.Zahra was ranked 26 among hundreds of thousands of student who took the test to become a medical student, after she graduated the high school. At the time of the incident, she was a volunteer physician working in a rural area. According to the medical records, the cause of death was pressure on the neck, which happened 0n 9pm, last Sunday. Zahra had been arrested two days before that, on 10am, in a park, because of “questions regarding her marital status”.
At the time she was accompanied by a boy, named Hamid. The next morning, 10 hours before the incident happened, her family were informed of the arrest, but they were not allowed to see her. She then called her brother at 8:45pm but her father was denied to see her at 9:45pm. Shortly after that she hung herself. The events took place when due to the Islamic Fetr celebrations the Police and the prison administration were not functioning at full capacity [Persian]. As before, the news was first denied as rumors [Persian].
In a letter, her father describes that both him* and her* daughter were humiliated by the Police. He also mentions that Hamid was very soon released on bail, partly due the fact that his father works for a government organization [Persian]. Reportedly, Hamid himself works for the local state-run television, as well [Persian]. Zahra’s parents have not disclosed any picture of her, or any other personal details, but her medical card has been published.
Official reports claim that she has used a banner to hang herself. Many ask if she had had the freedom of wandering around, dismantling a banner and consequently hanging herself [Persian]. That has caused some people to speculate upon a staged suicide, probably after she was raped inside the prison by the Police.
Many Persian bloggers condemned the incident, including Forough who describes how her brother’s shared apartment was raided in after she decided to spend a night in there.[Persian].
*Apparently the translator was a bit mixed up here and meant to say "both he and his daughter"
10-28-2007, 09:30
Iranian Medical Student “commits Suicide” 
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