URGENT ACTION for juvenile offender Saman Naseem at imminent risk of execution in Iran

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.

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@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@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@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@daftar.org

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