In Iran, the Innocent Is Never Free

The world has once again; found a reason to look at Iran in contempt, where it has become the center of another incident, one that highlights its oppression and extremism.

Saman Naseem is due to executed on February 19, after being arrested on July 17, 2011, after a gun battle between Revolutionary Guards and an armed opposition group. After his arrest he was held in a Ministry of Intelligence detention center, without any access to his family or a lawyer. Amnesty International here, is appealing to halt the execution of this 17 year old, who was tortured for 97 days in a bid to force a confession for being part of an opposition group, one that was resisting the Iranian regime.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, has spoken out about his concerns regarding the Iranian regime, ones that are taking the life of an innocent civilian. Talking in a press release, he said that the Iranian authorities are preparing to put to death a young man, who has been tortured for 97 days to ‘confess’ for an act he may or may have not committed. With less than a week left before he is due to be executed, he has urged the regime to reconsider his execution, and thoroughly review his case again.

Naseem, now 22, in a letter seen by Amnesty International, described how he was kept in a 2 by 0.5 meter cell and constantly tortured, before being forced, while blindfolded to put his fingerprints on 'confession' papers. He also highlighted the level of torture h had to endure, where during the first few days , his body had turned black, because of all the beating he had been accustomed to. Moreover, to mentally torture him, his captives repeatedly told him that they had arrested all his family members’ as well. His family members, were however not informed of his arrest and first learned about it through a video clip of Naseem aired on state TV, in which he 'confessed' to taking part in armed activities against the state.

Many advocates for human rights, including word leaders and organizations have highlighted the violation of rights, one that the Iranian regime refuses to do anything about. For them, this is the reality of the criminal justice system in Iran, which makes a mockery of its own statements, that it does not execute children. In reality however, it does nothing to uphold its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Iranian State itself can be seen as a culprit in this case, where the victim has talked about even the presiding judge threatening him with more beatings a number of times and his lawyers removed under pressure. Amnesty International added that, Naseem was sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court after being convicted of 'enmity against God' and 'corruption on earth’. This shows that the regime would not stop for anyone or anything; to make sure their version of Islam is never compromised.

In August 2012, the Supreme Court had overturned the death sentence and sent his case to a lower court for a retrial on the grounds that he had been under 18 at the time of the crimes of which he had been convicted. However, Naseem was again sentenced to death in April 2013 by a criminal court, where the Supreme Court upheld this death sentence again in December 2013.

http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30057:in-iran-the-innocent-is-never-free&catid=5:human-rights&Itemid=110