A 26-year-old Iranian woman is facing imminent death by hanging for killing a man in what she contends was self-defense, according to a human-rights organization.
The international group Avaaz said Rayhaneh Jabbari has been sentenced to hang for the killing of physician Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi.
The group has set up a petition site asking people to sign in support of the woman.
The Gatestone Institute reports Jabbari has been moved for the pending execution to the notorious Rajai Shahr prison, where American pastor Saeed Abedini is still incarcerated.
Avaaz reports Jabbari, who has been in prison for seven years after an Iranian court convicted her, is an interior decorator by trade. She was working at a coffee shop when she was approached by Sarbandi for advice on how to remodel his office.
According to Avaaz, the two spoke and arranged to meet to discuss the remodeling project.
The report said Sarbandi picked up Jabbari and drove to a pharmacy where he purchased an item. The two then went to what Jabbari later testified was a rough-looking building.
Jabbari testified that once inside the "rundown house," she saw two drinks on the table. There, the report said, "Morteza went inside and quickly locked the door from inside, put his arms around Rayhaneh's waist and told her that she had no way of escaping."
The two struggled and Jabbari stabbed Sarbandi in the shoulder and ran from the house. Sarbandi died from the bleeding caused by the stab wound, according to records.
An investigation later revealed that the drink Sarbandi intended to give Jabbari was laced with a sedative.
However, police arrested Jabbari and charged her with murder.
Jabbari testified in court, "The evening I was there, I knew that he wanted to rape me, so because of self-defense I stabbed him and escaped."
Sarbandi's family, however, made a statement at a court hearing demanding the death penalty.
Jabbari is not the only woman who could possibly hang soon.
International Christian Concern's Middle East analyst, Todd Daniels, noted a report by the Human Rights Activists news agency said Iranian Ashraf Nazari also is facing execution.
Daniels told WND the report comes on the heels of the execution of a man accused of heresy, Mohsen Amir Aslani, for suggesting the prophet Jonah could not have been spit out by a big fish.
"Though unsubstantiated charges of rape were brought against him, the real charges were for his religious beliefs and the willingness to question the interpretations of the Quran," Daniels said.
He said the same charges brought against Aslani have also been brought against three Christian pastors who could face the death penalty: Reza Rabbani, Abdolreza Ali (Mthias) Haghnejad and Behnam Irani.
He pointed out the hangings are taking place while the world focuses on the U.N. General Assembly and further nuclear talks with Iran.
"While the world is talking with Iran's officials about its nuclear program and their role in fighting the ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria, Iran continues to regularly violate the fundamental human rights of its citizens, executing hundreds and imprisoning many more for exercising their fundamental rights," he said.
He said the international community should confront Iran regarding the abuses, and Secretary of State John Kerry and President Obama "should explicitly engage to see their own citizens – Saeed Abedini, Jason Rezaian, and Amir Hekmati – released from prison."
"They are being held and abused for no justifiable reason, and yet the American government has been limited in engaging to bring them home, even to engage their families here," he said.
"Saeed Abedini's wife spoke this past week that she has not received any communication from the secretary of state or President Obama to communicate their concern or their desire to see her husband returned. It is has left her feeling abandoned by her government," Daniels said.