Amnesty International: Saman Naseem beaten, days from execution

Iranian political prisoner Saman Naseem scheduled to be executed on 19 February was beaten on Sunday to force him to make TV ‘confessions,’ according to Amnesty International.

The human rights organization published an Urgent Action to save life of Naseem who was arrested when he was 17 years old.

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 a Kurdish opposition group.

“Saman Naseem was allowed no access to his lawyer during early investigations and he said he was tortured, which included the removal of his finger and toe nails and being hung upside down for several hours,” Amnesty statement said.

“Saman Naseem called his family on 15 February and told them that earlier that day men in plain clothes had taken him to the security department of the Oroumieh Prison. He said the men, who he believed belonged to the Ministry of Intelligence and were carrying cameras and recording equipment, beat him for several hours to force him into making video-taped ‘confessions’, but he refused to do so.”