[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

Sat Feb 7 13:19:19 CST 2015

Feb. 7

IRAN:

EXECUTION LOOMS FOR SAMAN NASEEM

Iranian juvenile offender, Saman Naseem, could be executed as early as 19 
February 2015 for crimes allegedly committed when he was 17 years old. He 
was
sentenced to death after an unfair trial.

View the full Urgent Action, including case information, addresses and 
sample messages, here.

Iranian juvenile offender, Saman Naseem, could be executed as early as 19 
February 2015 for crimes allegedly committed when he was 17 years old. He 
was
sentenced to death after an unfair trial.

The family of Saman Naseem, who is now aged 22, have received reliable 
information that he will be executed on 19 February. Amnesty International
understands that the authorities have prevented Saman Naseem’s lawyer from 
pursuing the case and have not allowed him to appoint another lawyer.

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 the 
Kurdish armed opposition group Party For Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), 
and for
taking part in armed activities against the Revolutionary Guards. His 
death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2013.

According to court documents, during early investigations Saman Naseem 
admitted firing towards Revolutionary Guards forces in July 2011. He 
retracted
this during the first court session, saying 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 he said he was tortured by being hung upside down for a lengthy period 
of time.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Saman Naseem started a hunger strike on 20 November 2014, along with 23 
other prisoners from Iran’s Kurdish minority, in protest at the conditions 
in
Ward 12 of Oroumieh Central Prison, West Azerbaijan Province, where 
political prisoners are held. In retaliation, the authorities threatened 
to expedite
the execution of Saman Naseem and nine other men on death row. The men 
ended their hunger strike after 33 days, after the authorities promised to 
meet
their demands.

View the full Urgent Action here.

Name: Saman Naseem (m)
Issues: Imminent execution, Torture/Ill-treatment, Unfair trial
Further information on UA: 234/14 (18 September 2014)
Issue Date: 6 February 2015
Country: Iran

Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact!

EITHER send a short email to uan at aiusa.org with "UA 234/14" in the subject 
line, and include in the body of the email the number of letters and/or 
emails
you sent.

OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action.

Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action 
Office if sending appeals after the below date. This is the first update 
of UA
234/14. Further information: 
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/049/2014/en. If you receive a 
response from a government official, please
forward it to us at uan at aiusa.org or to the Urgent Action Office address 
below.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Please write immediately in English, Arabic, French, Spanish or your own 
language:
  *  Urging the Iranian authorities to stop the execution of Saman Naseem 
immediately and ensure that his case is subject to a judicial review;
  *  Reminding them that Iran has ratified both the International Covenant 
on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the 
Child,
     which strictly prohibit the use of the death penalty against people 
who were below 18 years of age at the time of the crime;
  *  Urging them to investigate the allegation that he was tortured or 
otherwise ill-treated and ensure that “confessions” obtained from him 
under torture
     are not used as evidence in court.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 20 MARCH 2015 TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
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 at leader.ir
Twitter: @khamenei_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
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
Twitter:@HassanRouhani (English) and @Rouhani_ir (Persian)

Also send copies to:
Iran does not presently have an embassy in the United States. Instead, 
please send copies to:

Iranian Interests Section
2209 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington DC 20007
Phone: 202 965 4990  I  Fax: 202 965 1073  I  Email: info at daftar.org

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email,
please use the "Forward this email to a friend" link found at the very 
bottom of this email. Thank you for your activism!

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T. 202.509.8193 │ F. 202.509.8193 │E. uan at aiusa.org 
│amnestyusa.org/urgent