Alireza Shahi, Is at Imminent Risk of Execution
A 25-year-old Iranian man, Alireza Shahi, is at imminent risk of execution after he was convicted and sentenced to death for the charge of murder. Amnesty International has concerns about the fairness of the trial that led to Alireza Shahi’s conviction.
Alireza Shahi is scheduled to be executed on 11 November. He was transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for execution, in Raja’i Shahr Prison in Karaj, near Tehran, on 1 November. His execution had initially been scheduled for 4 November, but was postponed on 2 November, when his family were given seven days to obtain the pardon of the family of the deceased man. He has since been returned to the prison’s general ward.
Alireza Shahi was sentenced to death on 23 June 2012 under the Islamic principle of qesas (retribution-in-kind) for involvement in a fatal stabbing which took place during a fight among several young men in December 2008 when he was 18 years old. There are concerns about his treatment and the fairness of the proceedings that led to his conviction. Following his arrest, Alireza Shahi was held in detention for over two weeks without access to a lawyer or his family and was allegedly tortured or otherwise ill-treated. According to the court documents, it was during the primary investigation that Alireza Shahi admitted to stabbing the man, but he later attributed the guilt to another man involved in the fight, who was also accused of stabbing the victim. He had only one hearing, before Branch 71 of the Criminal Court in Tehran. His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2013.
Please write immediately in Persian, English, Arabic, Spanish, French or your own language:
轩 Calling on the Iranian authorities to halt Alireza Shahi’s execution immediately and to commute his death sentence;
轩 Calling on them to investigate the allegations that Alireza Shahi was tortured or otherwise ill-treated and reminding them that statements obtained through torture, ill-treatment or coercion must be excluded as evidence in criminal proceedings.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 18 DECEMBER 2015 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: (via website) http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?
p=letter
Twitter: @khamenei_ir (English),
@Khamenei_ar (Arabic),
@Khamenei_es (Spanish).
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani
c/o Public Relations Office
Number 4, Deadend of 1 Azizi
Above Pasteur Intersection
Vali Asr Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
President of the Islamic Republic Iran
Hassan Rouhani
The Presidency
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English),
@Rouhani_ir (Persian)
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Alireza Shahi was taken to a hospital after the fight, on 8 December 2008, with a stab wound received during the fight. He was arrested on the same day and taken to a police station (agahi).
Alireza Shahi’s family were granted a final visit on 1 November 2015 after he was taken to solitary confinement in preparation for execution. His execution was to be carried out on 4 November but he was taken out of solitary confinement on 2 November and was granted a seven-day stay of execution.
Under international human rights law and standards, people who risk facing the irreversible punishment of death are entitled to the strictest observance of all fair trial guarantees. They must be presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven based upon clear and convincing evidence leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts, in strict application of the highest standards for gathering and assessing evidence. These guarantees also include the right to counsel of choice at all stages of criminal proceedings including pre-trial detention, questioning and primary investigation.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime, the guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the offender or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. The death penalty violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.