Iranian of the Day

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: An Iranian man, Gholamreza Khosravi Savajani, is scheduled to be executed on 10 September, on the charge of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) for his alleged support of a banned Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).

The family of Gholamreza Khosravi Savajani, aged 50, stated that he was told in July 2012 that his death sentence will be implemented on 10 September. Held in Tehran’s Evin Prison since July 2011, he has reportedly spent over 40 months in solitary confinement in various detention centres since his arrest in 2008, including in Section 240 of Evin Prison. After his arrest, he is alleged to have been held in a Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in Kerman, southern Iran, where he is said to have been tortured or ill-treated, reportedly after refusing to make a “confession”.

Gholamreza Khosravi Savajani was arrested in 2008 in Rafsanjan, Kerman Province, in connection with his alleged support of the pro-PMOI TV station Sima-ye Azadi (Voice of Freedom). In 2008 he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, three years of which were suspended. Following an appeal by the Ministry of Intelligence, the three-year suspended sentence was implemented, bringing his total sentence to 6 years actual imprisonment. Following further legal proceedings, including two retrials, he was sentenced to death after conviction of a fresh charge of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) for his alleged ties to the PMOI, which the Supreme Court confirmed on 21 April 2012.

USE PERSIAN, ARABIC OR ENGLISH TO CREATE A PERSONAL APPEAL,

* calling on the Iranian authorities not to execute Gholamreza Khosravi Savajani, or anyone else sentenced to death and remind them that under international law, the death penalty can only be carried out for “the most serious crimes” which must be “intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences,

* expressing concern that Gholamreza Khosravi Savajani did not receive a fair trial, and urging the authorities to investigate the allegations that he was tortured and to bring to justice anyone found responsible for abuses,

* asking the authorities to make sure Gholamreza Khosravi Savajani is protected from torture and other ill-treatment, is granted all necessary medical treatment, and is allowed immediate and regular contact with his lawyers and family.

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