DUBAI: Iran’s justice minister said a move to execute a convicted Iranian drug offender who has already survived a hanging is ill-advised, suggesting he would not face capital punishment again. The statement by Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who does not run Iran’s judiciary, followed international calls for Iran to spare the man, a 37-year-old named only as Alireza M.
New Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has sought to project a friendlier image to the West than his predecessor, the hardline conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran released prominent political prisoners, including human-rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, in September to wide global praise.
“With great efforts made to not carry out a new execution of this convict ... we received a positive reply,” Pourmohammadi said, according to state news agency Irna. “The convicted individual who remained alive after execution is currently under an oxygen device, and if he remains alive, it is no longer expedient for the execution order to be carried out again.”
The head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, said yesterday the man could be spared on humanitarian grounds.
Reuters
