Iran Human Rights Organization Calls for Halt to Execution of Jewish Youth

The Iran Human Rights Organization has warned of the 'imminent danger of execution' for a 21-year-old Iranian Jewish citizen and has called for a halt to this sentence. The Norway-based organization reported on Friday, May 17, that Arvin Khahramani, a Jewish citizen, was sentenced to 'qisas' (retribution) for 'premeditated murder' committed at the age of 18 'in a street brawl' and is currently imprisoned. The report indicates that Arvin Khahramani's family has until Tuesday, May 21, to obtain the consent of the family of Amir Shokri, the victim, or else his sentence will be carried out. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, Arvin Khahramani has now been transferred to quarantine at the central prison of Kermanshah. He was supposed to be executed last Saturday, but the deadline to persuade the victim's family to forgive has been extended until early Tuesday. Meanwhile, sources within the Iranian Jewish community have stated that the deadline given to Khahramani's family is one month, but this claim has not been confirmed. Previously, Sonia Khahramani, Arvin's mother, had asked people in a voice message shared on social media to pray for the cancellation of her son's death sentence. The threat of execution for this Jewish youth in Iran has received widespread coverage in Israeli media in recent days. Thousands of Jewish believers went to the Rahel tomb, a holy site near Jerusalem, on Saturday and prayed for the salvation of this Iranian Jew from the death penalty. They shouted Arvin's Hebrew name, Nathaniel. At the same time, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on May 30 that extensive efforts to annul the death sentence of this Iranian Jewish citizen through international organizations are ongoing, and various actors from countries like Russia, Germany, and others have called for mediation. Israeli media reports indicate that the Khahramani family has offered money (diyeh) to annul the death sentence, but the victim's family insists on retribution. On one day, 'ten executions' were carried out in several cities in Iran. However, according to the Jerusalem Post, fundraising to encourage the victim's Muslim family to accept more money in exchange for forgiveness is still ongoing. Under Iranian law, with the consent of the family of a deceased person, the death sentence can be commuted to a long prison term by paying a diya. The Iran Human Rights Organization announced on May 2 of this year that the Islamic Republic executed one person every five hours between April 17 and May 2. According to this human rights organization's report, the death sentences of 63 prisoners were carried out in Iranian prisons during the mentioned two weeks. The conviction of a Jewish citizen in Iran for a charge like murder, especially leading to the death of a Muslim citizen, is a rare event. According to Israeli media, about eight thousand Jews live in Iran. Before the revolution in Iran, more than one hundred thousand Jews lived in the country.