April 16
IRAN:
Iranian killer's execution halted at last minute by victim's parents; Convict
had noose around his neck when victim's mother approached, slapped him in the
face and spared his life
When he felt the noose around his neck, Balal must have thought he was about to
take his last breath. Minutes earlier, crowds had watched as guards pushed him
towards the gallows for what was meant to be yet another public execution in
the Islamic republic of Iran.
7 years ago Balal, who is in his 20s, stabbed 18-year-old Abdollah Hosseinzadeh
during a street brawl in the small town of Royan, in the northern province of
Mazandaran. In a literal application of qisas, the sharia law of retribution,
the victim's family were to participate in Balal's punishment by pushing the
chair on which he stood.
But what happened next marked a rarity in public executions in Iran, which puts
more people to death than any other country apart from China. The victim's
mother approached, slapped the convict in the face and then decided to forgive
her son's killer. The victim's father removed the noose and Balal's life was
spared.
Photographs taken by Arash Khamooshi, of the semi-official Isna news agency,
show what followed. Balal's mother hugged the grieving mother of the man her
son had killed. The 2 women sobbed in each other's arms - one because she had
lost her son, the other because hers had been saved.
The action by Hosseinzadeh's mother was all the more extraordinary as it
emerged that this was not the first son she had lost. Her younger child
Amirhossein was killed in a motorbike accident at the age of 11.
"My 18-year-old son Abdollah was taking a stroll in the bazaar with his friends
when Balal shoved him," said the victim's father, Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh,
according to Isna. "Abdollah was offended and kicked him but at this time the
murderer took an ordinary kitchen knife out of his socks."
Hosseinzadeh Sr has come to the conclusion that Balal did not kill his son
deliberately. "Balal was inexperienced and didn't know how to handle a knife.
He was naive."
According to the father, Balal escaped the scene of the stabbing but was later
arrested by the police. It took 6 years for a court to hand down a death
sentence, and the victim's family deferred the execution a number of times. An
date for execution was set just before the Persian new year, Nowruz, but the
victim's family did not approve of the timing.
Hosseinzadeh said a dream prompted the change of heart. "3 days ago my wife saw
my elder son in a dream telling her that they are in a good place, and for her
not to retaliate ... This calmed my wife and we decided to think more until the
day of the execution."
Many Iranian public figures, including the popular TV sport presenter Adel
Ferdosipour, had called on the couple, who have a daughter, to forgive the
killer. Although they did so, Balal will not necessarily be freed. Under
Iranian law the victim's family have a say only in the act of execution, not
any jail sentence.
In recent years Iran has faced criticism from human rights activists for its
high rate of executions. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, accused Hassan
Rouhani of doing too little to improve Iran's human rights, especially reining
in its staggering use of capital punishment.
As of last week, 199 executions are believed to have been carried out in Iran
this year, according to Amnesty, a rate of almost two a day. Last year Iran and
Iraq were responsible for 2/3 of the world's executions, excluding China.
At least 369 executions were officially acknowledged by the Iranian authorities
in 2013, but Amnesty said hundreds more people were put to death in secret,
taking the actual number close to 700.
Iran is particularly criticised for its public executions, which have attracted
children among the crowds in the past. Iranian photographers are often allowed
to document them.
Bahareh Davis, of Amnesty International, welcomed the news that Balal had been
spared death. "It is of course welcome news that the family of the victim have
spared this young man's life," she said. "However, qisas regulations in Iran
mean that people who are sentenced to death under this system of punishment are
effectively prevented from seeking a pardon or commutation of their sentences
from the authorities - contrary to Iran's international obligations."
She added: "It's deeply disturbing that the death penalty continues to be seen
as a solution to crime in Iran. Not only is the death penalty the ultimate
cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment with no special deterrent impact, but
public displays of killing also perpetuate a culture of acceptance of violence.
"Public executions are degrading and incompatible with human dignity of those
executed. In addition, all those who watch public executions - which
regrettably often includes children - are brutalised by the experience."
In October last year an Iranian prisoner who survived an attempted execution
and was revived in the morgue was spared another attempt, though his family
said he had lost mental stability and remained in jail.
(source: The Guardian)
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