UA: 178/14 Index: MDE 13/040/2014 Iran Date: 11 July 2014 URGENT ACTION JUVENILE OFFENDER AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN IRAN
Iranian juvenile offender Rasoul Holoumi is at risk of execution for allegedly causing fatal injuries to a boy in a fight.
He was 17 years old at the time. His death sentence has been sent to the Office of the Implementation of Sentences in Ahvaz, and could be carried out at the request of the family of the deceased victim at any time. Rasoul Holoumi, now aged 22, was sentenced to death in October 2010 under qesas (retribution-in-kind) by Branch 17 of the Criminal Court of Khuzestan Province. The court convicted him of murder based on allegations that he threw a hard object at the head of Nasim Nouri Maleki during the course of a fight in September 2009.
The allegations have been made by several of the people involved in the fight. The court documents indicate that Rasoul Holoumi initially admitted causing the fatal head injuries.
He retracted his admission after several weeks with statements that raise doubts about the events, including the identity of the individual who struck the victim, the intentionality of the injuries caused, and even the presence of Rasoul Holoumi at the scene of the incident.
Despite of his age at the time of the offence, the seriousness of the charge, and the risk of the imposition of the death penalty, Rasoul Haloumi was not given access to a lawyer during the investigative phase nor was he provided with adequate time and facilities to prepare effective defence through competent appointed counsel before and during trial.
In spite of this the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence in 2010 without justifying its decision.
The execution of Rasoul Holoumi was to be implemented on 4 May, but was stopped after the family of the deceased victim agreed to forgo their request for qesas if Rasoul Holoum’s family transferred the deeds of their house and farm to them and paid them 3.5 billion rials (135,323$) as diyah (blood money).
Rasoul Haloumi is at imminent risk of execution as the amount of diyah asked appears to be beyond his family’s means.
Sentences of qesas are not open to pardon or amnesty by the Supreme Leader, in breach of international law, but they can be temporarily stayed by the head of the judiciary in order to allow the family time to raise the requested blood money.
Please write immediately in Persian, English, Spanish or your own language: n Urging the Iranian authorities to immediately halt the execution of Rasoul Haloumi; n Calling on them to ensure his case is reviewed urgently with a view to overturning his death sentence; n Reminding them that execution of people for crimes committed under 18 is strictly prohibited under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), both of which Iran has ratified; n Reminding them that under Article 6(4) of the ICCPR, anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 22 AUGUST 2014 TO: Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei The Office of the Supreme Leader Islamic Republic Street- End of Shahid KeshvarDoust Street Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Twitter: @khamenei_ir Email:info_leader@leader.ir Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani c/o Public Relations Office Number 4, 2 Azizi Street intersection Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran (Subject line: FAO Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani) Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to: President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani The Presidency Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Email: media@rouhani.ir Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English) and @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
URGENT ACTION JUVENILE OFFENDER AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN IRAN
He was 17 years old at the time. His death sentence has been sent to the Office of the Implementation of Sentences in Ahvaz, and could be carried out at the request of the family of the deceased victim at any time. Rasoul Holoumi, now aged 22, was sentenced to death in October 2010 under qesas (retribution-in-kind) by Branch 17 of the Criminal Court of Khuzestan Province. The court convicted him of murder based on allegations that he threw a hard object at the head of Nasim Nouri Maleki during the course of a fight in September 2009.
The allegations have been made by several of the people involved in the fight. The court documents indicate that Rasoul Holoumi initially admitted causing the fatal head injuries.
He retracted his admission after several weeks with statements that raise doubts about the events, including the identity of the individual who struck the victim, the intentionality of the injuries caused, and even the presence of Rasoul Holoumi at the scene of the incident.
Despite of his age at the time of the offence, the seriousness of the charge, and the risk of the imposition of the death penalty, Rasoul Haloumi was not given access to a lawyer during the investigative phase nor was he provided with adequate time and facilities to prepare effective defence through competent appointed counsel before and during trial.
In spite of this the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence in 2010 without justifying its decision.
The execution of Rasoul Holoumi was to be implemented on 4 May, but was stopped after the family of the deceased victim agreed to forgo their request for qesas if Rasoul Holoum’s family transferred the deeds of their house and farm to them and paid them 3.5 billion rials (135,323$) as diyah (blood money).
Rasoul Haloumi is at imminent risk of execution as the amount of diyah asked appears to be beyond his family’s means.
Sentences of qesas are not open to pardon or amnesty by the Supreme Leader, in breach of international law, but they can be temporarily stayed by the head of the judiciary in order to allow the family time to raise the requested blood money.
Please write immediately in Persian, English, Spanish or your own language: n Urging the Iranian authorities to immediately halt the execution of Rasoul Haloumi; n Calling on them to ensure his case is reviewed urgently with a view to overturning his death sentence; n Reminding them that execution of people for crimes committed under 18 is strictly prohibited under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), both of which Iran has ratified; n Reminding them that under Article 6(4) of the ICCPR, anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 22 AUGUST 2014 TO: Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei The Office of the Supreme Leader Islamic Republic Street- End of Shahid KeshvarDoust Street Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Twitter: @khamenei_ir Email:info_leader@leader.ir Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani c/o Public Relations Office Number 4, 2 Azizi Street intersection Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran (Subject line: FAO Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani) Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to: President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani The Presidency Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Email: media@rouhani.ir Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English) and @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
URGENT ACTION JUVENILE OFFENDER AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN IRAN
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