Since taking his post as the new Head of Judiciary, Ayatollah Larijani granted a stay of execution for Behnood Shojaei. As reported in Iranian “Parleman News”, defence lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei said that 7 people were scheduled to be executed but they all received stays of execution. He reported to ILNA that human rights activists, Mothers for Peace, and some good Samaritans visited the family of the deceased prior to the execution and pleaded for forgiveness. At the time of the execution, the head of execution invited the family of the victim inside the prison and half an hour later, an officer announced that there would be no executions that day. It is also reported that Abbass Jadidi, a Wrestling champion, stood in front of Evin prison in order to convince the family of the victim to forgive Ghasem Nemati whose execution was also postponed. Mohammad Mostafaei continues to stress faults in Behnood’s file.
Thank you to all those who took action. Please keep up the pressure for Behnood and the 160 + other children currently waiting on death row in Iran.
