Amnesty International's Call to Iran's Leader to Halt the Execution of Saman Nasim

The Secretary General of Amnesty International and two UN human rights officials have urged senior officials of the Islamic Republic to halt the execution of Saman Nasim, a Kurdish prisoner who was under 18 at the time of his arrest. Salil Shetty, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, in a video message addressed to Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, stated that executing someone who was a minor at the time of the crime is against all international treaties that Iran has signed. He called on Khamenei to prevent the execution of Saman Nasim. Human rights activists say that Saman Nasim, 22, who was only 17 at the time of his arrest, is scheduled to be executed on Thursday, February 30. They report that Saman Nasim, along with four other prisoners, has been transferred to an unknown location for the execution. In Shetty's message regarding Saman Nasim, he stated: 'He is a young man who is set to be executed tomorrow, February 30, in Iran. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty under any circumstances.' He added, 'You should not and cannot execute someone who was merely a minor at the time of arrest. Executing such a person is against international laws that Iran has also signed.' The Secretary General of Amnesty International further stated, 'I urge you to show compassion and demonstrate to the world that you will not carry out an unjust sentence; Saman Nasim's life is in your hands.' Meanwhile, reports indicate that Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and Christof Heyns, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, have also called for the halt of Saman Nasim's execution. Amnesty International, along with several other human rights organizations, has previously called for the cancellation of Saman Nasim's death sentence. Amnesty International claims that Saman Nasim's 'confessions' were obtained under 'a period of torture.' They added that he was sentenced to death in an 'unfair' trial for alleged membership in an armed group against the government, and Khamenei has been urged to stop the execution. The report also referenced Saman Nasim's statements: 'As soon as I entered the prison cell, the torture began immediately. The cell itself, measuring two meters by half a meter with a toilet, was a form of psychological torture. A camera was also installed above me that recorded even my use of the toilet.' Saman Nasim continued, 'This torture and torment lasted for 97 days. In the early days, the intensity of the torture was so severe that I lost the ability to walk. My entire body was black and blue. They would hang me by my hands and feet for hours, keeping my eyes closed the entire time so I could not see the torturers and interrogators. They used all methods to extract confessions from me, repeatedly telling me that family members, including my father, mother, and brother, had also been arrested.' Saman Nasim further stated, 'They told me they would kill me and bury me right there with cement. I wanted to sleep at night, but they wouldn’t let me; they constantly made noise, and I was caught between madness and awareness.' He went on to say that under these conditions, which lasted for 97 days, he was forced to make false confessions, and based on these confessions, he was sentenced to death. Saman Nasim added, 'My trial was merely a show; I was given no opportunity to defend myself, the head of the court repeatedly threatened to beat me, and my defense lawyers were pressured to withdraw.'