ISLAMABAD: Human rights activists and students from various universities of the federal capital gathered in front of the National Press Club on Friday and held a candlelight vigil for Reyhaneh Jabbari.

Twenty-six years old Jabbari was executed by the Iranian government on October 25 for murdering her alleged rapist, an ex-military official.

Reyhaneh Jabbari had been imprisoned for five years prior to her execution, and the international community had appealed for a retrial.

Know more: Woman hanged despite international appeals in Tehran

The vigil was organised by Civic Face Pakistan, a youth activism forum on human rights and social democracy.

Participants of the vigil, holding placards, chanted slogans against the incident and said the Iranian regime’s actions were a violation of human rights.

A moment of silence was observed in Reyhaneh’s honour and her letter to her mother was also read out which left many among the participants teary-eyed.

The protesters also condemned the violence against minorities in Pakistan, especially target killing of the Hazaras in Quetta.

A participant of the vigil, Asad Shoaib, a student of MPhil at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, while talking to Dawn, said it was not a political issue and participants of the vigil did not have affiliation with any political group.

“The incident is very relevant to Pakistan because we have so many flaws in Hudood Ordinance and laws dealing with rape,” he said.

“In the letter Reyhaneh has said that she has never even killed a cockroach, how can she kill a person? She was an interior designer,” he said.

While replying to a question, Mr Asad said the international community should have raised its voice for the Reyhaneh much earlier.

“However I do not think that Iranian government would have stopped the execution because it did not announce retrial despite demands by the international community,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 1st , 2014