In the summer of 2007, Reyhaneh Jabbari was approached by an older man. He asks the student, who works as an interior designer, to help him design practice rooms. During the site inspection he tries to rape her. Reyhaneh stabs him in self-defense. She is arrested for murder and sentenced to death. She sits in prison for seven years while her family hires lawyers and informs the public about the case. Despite national and international political and human rights efforts, the Iranian judiciary refers to the “right to blood revenge”: As long as Reyhaneh does not withdraw her accusations against the man, his family can demand her death. But Reyhaneh stands by her statement and is hanged at the age of 26.
In her touching and frighteningly current documentary debut, director Steffi Niederzoll uses, among other things, original sound and image material that was smuggled out of the country. The film, for which the Holy Spider actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi Reyhaneh lent her voice, makes the injustice in Iranian society visible and portrays an unwilling heroine who gave her life in the fight for women’s rights.