TAKE ACTION: STOP THE EXECUTION OF 22-YEAR-OLD SAMAN NASEEM BY IRAN

Iranian juvenile offender, Saman Naseem, could be executed as early as 19 February 2015 for crimes allegedly committed when he was 17 years old. He was sentenced to death after an unfair trial.

The family of Saman Naseem, who is now aged 22, have received reliable information that he will be executed on 19 February. Amnesty International understands that the authorities have prevented Saman Naseem’s lawyer from pursuing the case and have not allowed him to appoint another lawyer.

Saman Naseem was sentenced to death in April 2013 by a criminal court in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (ifsad fil-arz) because of his membership of the Kurdish armed opposition group Party For Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), and for taking part in armed activities against the Revolutionary Guards. His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2013.

According to court documents, during early investigations Saman Naseem admitted firing towards Revolutionary Guards forces in July 2011. He retracted this during the first court session, saying that he had only fired into the air and had not been aware of the content of the written “confessions” he was forced to sign as he had been kept blindfolded while he was interrogated. Saman Naseem was allowed no access to his lawyer during early investigations and he said he was tortured by being hung upside down for a lengthy period of time.

Below is a message composed by the Alliance for Kurdish Rights to be used by anyone to urge the recipients mentioned below as part of a campaign to overturn Saman Naseem’s death sentence.

Your Excellency,

I am writing to you to express my concerns regarding a 22-year old prisoner by the name of Saman Naseem who is awaiting execution.

I am calling on you to halt the execution and allow for a reconsideration of his case under transparent and just measures.

I am also reminding you that Iran has ratified both the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which strictly prohibit the use of the death penalty against people who were below 18 years of age at the time of the crime.

Lastly, I am urging you to remember that Iran has ratified  Article 7 of the Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits the act of torture against prisoners. I hope that an investigation will be initiated into the allegation that he was tortured or ill-treated and ensure that the “confessions” obtained from him under torture are not used as evidence in court.

I hope that you will give positive reconsideration to the case of Saman Naseem.

Sincerely,
(Your name)

Send to:

Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info_leader@leader.ir
Twitter: @khamenei_ir

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani
c/o Public Relations Office
Number 4, 2 Azizi Street intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

President of the Islamic republic of Iran
Hassan Rouhani
The Presidency
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
http://kurdishrights.org/

Amnesty International writes: