From Kristian Hvesser:

The continuation of Nazanin’s re-trial took place today. It was delayed from 10:30AM to 12:30PM, in part due to the fact that so many people showed up in support of Nazanin’s campaign. They were required to move court rooms. The international committee against execution says that normally in a case like this, 10-15 people show up. But today, 200-300 came to support Nazanin and there were many news reporters present. Nazanin’s two defense attorneys proceeded with their defense.

After much discussions, the four judges unanimously determined that the lower court decision in January of 2006 was wrong and Nazanin killing the would-be rapist was not intentional. The defense attorneys are hopeful that the final decision on the fate of Nazanin will be announced in the next few days.

This is a very large step forward for Nazanin, and it brings great hope that she will avoid a new death sentence. Maybe she can even be free! This would not have happened without support from people all around the world, so thank you to all of you! But please don’t rest yet. Until Nazanin walks out of the prison gate, she will continue to need our support.

This is very promising, for lots of reasons. First and foremost, it’s fantastic news for Nazanin. There’s no way her life will go back to normal, but it appears that it will go on.

The bigger picture, though, is that Iranian justice is subject to its people – and those people have power. Our government goes to great lengths to portray Iran as a barbaric, medieval society and, as most Iranians will tell you, that simply isn’t the case.

In fact, the Iranian government and its policies don’t seem to reflect the values of the Iranian people any more than the Bush administration’s policies reflect American attitudes. Certainly, Iran is not without its problems – and the same can be said for the United States – but the Iranian legal system has demonstrated that it is not without hope, either.