Hit list found in honor killing of Iranian activist
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 2 May 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Hit list found in honor killing of Iranian activist, 2 May 2015, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/5565ba6926.html [accessed 28 December 2015] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
May 02, 2015
Gelareh Bagherzadeh (file photo)
Texas investigators have disclosed that they found a hit list in a murder case involving the honor killing of an outspoken Iranian activist in Houston.
U.S. prosecutors last week charged a Jordanian immigrant and devout Muslim, Ali Awad Mahmoud Irsan, with shooting the anti-Tehran activist Gelerah Bagherzadeh out of rage that she persuaded his daughter to go ahead and marry a Texas Christian man.
The Texan, Coty Beavers, was later found shot to death.
Prosecutors say Irsan orchestrated both murders with assistance from his wife, son, and another daughter.
They found a hit list with other possible targets of the conspiracy, including witnesses such as homicide investigators, and Beavers' relatives.
Irsan's attorney called the charges "ludicrous."
"He planned and executed the murder of his daughter's husband and his daughter's best friend" because he believed they had "violated his honor as a Muslim," Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said on May 1.
The indictment resolves speculation that the Iranian government was involved in the 2012 murder of Bagherzadeh, who spoke out publicly against Tehran's repressive tactics after leaving Iran in 2008 and converting to Christianity.
Based on reporting by AP, Texas Public Radio, and The Daily Mail
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
