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Gelareh Bagherzadeh was a 30-year-old Iranian-American activist who was killed on January 15, 2012, in Houston, Texas. Bagherzadeh was shot while she was in her car outside her parents' house. Her death was a case of honor-based violence, related to her friendship with Nesreen Irsan, the daughter of a conservative Jordanian immigrant, Ali Irsan.
The case has garnered a lot of media coverage is the subject of the upcoming episode of season two of Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler. The episode set to be aired on March 22, 2025, on Oxygen will examine the circumstances surrounding Bagherzadeh's murder and the issue of honor-based violence in immigrant communities.
The circumstances of the Gelareh Bagherzadeh's murder
CBS News reported that on the evening of her murder, Gelareh was driving home and talking to her former boyfriend on the phone when she was attacked. She was reportedly shot through the passenger-side window of her vehicle by Nasim Irsan, Ali Irsan's son and Nesreen's brother.
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Witnesses heard several shots fired before Gelareh's car hit a garage door. She was found slumped over in the front seat with gunshot wounds to her head. Police discovered that several shots had been fired at her car, substantiating the premeditated intent of the attack.
According to CBS News, the reason behind the murder of Gelareh Bagherzadeh was Ali Irsan's belief that she had manipulated his daughter Nesreen. He believed that Gelareh had motivated his daughter to convert to Christianity and marry an American man named Coty Beavers. This led to him considering Bagherzadeh a threat to his family's honor.
Prosecutors claimed that the murder was one of a series of patterns of domination and violence used by Irsan against his supposed disobedient family members. It is worth noting that ten months after the death of Gelareh Bagherzadeh, her friend, Nesreen's husband, Coty was also killed by members of the Irsan family.
Legal proceedings and charges
The probe of Gelareh Bagherzadeh's murder uncovered a history of unsettling behavior from Ali Irsan. He was previously implicated in the suspicious death of his son-in-law Amjad Alidam in 1999. While the death was initially declared an act of self-defense, Nesreen later claimed that it was staged to look like that.
Following Bagherzadeh's murder, officials charged Ali Irsan with capital murder. His wife, Shmou Ali Alrawabdeh, and son Nasim were also charged with murder. According to AP News, Ali Irsan was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for Gelareh's and Coty's murders in February 2018.
Testimony throughout his trial revealed that Ali's actions were motivated by a need to reclaim the honor of his family. This belief stemmed after Nesreen ran away from home and married outside their religion.
Ali's son, Nasim Irsan entered a plea of guilty for the murder of Gelareh Bagherzadeh and was given a 40-year jail sentence for cooperating with prosecutors.
Additionally, another one of Nesreen's siblings, Nadia Irsan was also charged with stalking her as she tried to find Nesreen and Coty after they got married.
Cultural implications and community response
Gelareh Bagherzadeh's murder raised debates about honor killings among the immigrant communities in the USA. Ali Irsan's actions were caused by his belief that his daughter and her friends' influence was bringing dishonor to his family.
Activists used Gelareh Bagherzadeh's case to highlight the risks for women who challenge traditional roles in their families and communities. The case highlighted the necessity for legal protection from such violence and elicited calls for a broader understanding of cultural conflicts within America's immigrant families.
While Gelareh Bagherzadeh's family was grateful to the police for bringing justice to her killers, they are still grieving her loss. They have stated that they hope that telling Gelareh Bagherzadeh's story will prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.
The upcoming episode of Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler, set to be released on March 22, 2025, will take a deeper look at Gelareh's death and what led to it.
