Iran: Juvenile offender faces execution

                   

Amnesty International has issued an Urgent Action about Iranian juvenile offender Saman Naseem warning he may be executed at any time.

Mr. Nassem has been convicted of taking part in armed activities against the state and killing a member of the Revolutionary Guards, while he was under 18, Amnesty International said adding he could be executed at any time as his death sentence has been sent to the Office of the Implementation of Sentences.

Saman Naseem, now aged 21, is a member of Iran’s Kurdish minority. He was sentenced to death in April 2013 by a court in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (ifsad fil-arz).

According to the court documents, during early investigations Saman Naseem admitted firing towards Revolutionary Guards forces in July 2011. However, he retracted this during the first court session and said 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 was allegedly tortured or otherwise ill-treated.