RAHANA- In its latest statement released on 5 July 2010, Amnesty International states that “Mohammad Reza Haddadi is sentenced to death for a crime he allegedly committed while under the age of 18.” However, in their interview with RAHANA’s reporter, the family of victim Mohammad Rahmat rejected this belief and said he certainly was not under 18 at the time of committing the crime.

Amnesty International explains that “On 4 July 2010, the family of Mohammad Reza Haddadi were informed by judicial officials that they should visit their son for the last time before his execution takes place in the early hours of 7 July in Adelabad prison, Shiraz, in southern Iran. However, by 5 July, Mohammad Reza Haddadi’s lawyer had not been officially informed of any scheduled execution and says that he was told that he would not be executed on 7 July. Nonetheless, he believes there is a significant risk his client may be executed in the very near future. Juvenile offenders have previously been executed without prior warning to their lawyers, though under Iranian law his lawyer should receive 48 hours’ notice.

Mohammad Reza Haddadi was sentenced to death in 2004 for a murder he allegedly committed when he was 15. He is now around 22 years old. His death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in July 2005. He was first scheduled for execution in October 2008, but it was stayed on the order of the Head of the Judiciary. His execution was then scheduled again on 27 May 2009 and 16 July 2009. There were further unconfirmed reports that he would be executed on 9 December 2009.”

The statement also mentions the case of two other juvenile offenders as follows “There is no further news of Naser Qasemi, who was also sentenced to death for a crime allegedly committed when he was under 18. Another juvenile offender, Reza Hejazi, was hanged in Esfahan prison on 19 August 2008.”

This statement also calls on everyone to send appeals mentioning the following issues:

• calling on the Iranian authorities to halt the execution of Mohammad Reza Haddadi immediately, and commute his death sentence;

• reminding the authorities that Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which prohibit the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 14 JULY, PREFERABLY BEFORE 7 JULY:

Leader of the Islamic Republic

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: info_leader@leader.ir;

via website: – http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter (English);http://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=letter ( Persian)

Salutation: Your Excellency

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