Mohammad Reza Hadadi on the Brink of Execution

The father of a death row inmate, who was 15 years old at the time of his arrest, tells Radio Farda that his son is on the brink of execution. Mohammad Reza Hadadi, 28, who is imprisoned in Adelabad prison in Shiraz, was arrested 13 years ago on charges of murdering Mohammad Baqer Rahmat. He initially confessed to the murder during the preliminary investigations. However, according to his family and his former lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, the real killers were others who had promised to pay Mohammad Reza Hadadi for taking the blame and told him that he would not be executed because he was a minor. The execution of Mohammad Reza Hadadi has been postponed four times so far, the last time being in Tir 1389 (July 2010). (The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on the Rights of the Child, which Iran is a signatory to, and the United Nations' minimum standards for the administration of juvenile justice established in 1986 prohibit the execution of individuals who were under 18 at the time of the crime). Nasrollah Hadadi, Mohammad Reza Hadadi's father, confirmed at the beginning of an interview with Radio Farda that officials informed him last night (Sunday night) that his son's death sentence will be carried out tomorrow (Tuesday) in Shiraz.