Rejection of Arvin Ghahramani's Request for Retrial, Jewish Citizen Sentenced to Death

Human rights media report that the request for retrial by Arvin Ghahramani (Nathaniel), a young Iranian Jew sentenced to death for murder, was rejected by the Supreme Court. The Iran Human Rights Organization stated on Friday, June 4, that this Jewish citizen is 'at serious risk of execution at any moment.' According to relatives of Mr. Ghahramani, 'for unknown reasons, the appointed defense attorney did not provide effective defense for Arvin, and the issue of self-defense was not seriously raised in the case.' These sources indicated that 'Arvin defended himself when he was attacked with a cold weapon by the victim, taking the weapon from him. After injuring that individual, he also attempted to save his life.' This organization based in Norway reported last week that Arvin Ghahramani, a Jewish citizen, was sentenced to 'qisas' (retribution) for committing 'premeditated murder' at the age of 18 'during a street brawl' and is currently imprisoned in the central prison of Kermanshah. The Iran Human Rights Organization called for the suspension of the death sentence for a Jew. According to this organization, he was supposed to be executed earlier, but the deadline to convince the victim's family to forgive the retribution sentence was extended until early last Monday. The news agency HRANA also reported on Friday, June 4, that 'some prominent figures, including several artists, are trying to gain the consent of the victim's family as a last resort to save this prisoner from the death penalty.' This news agency also described the judicial process of this citizen that led to the death sentence as 'short.' 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 1. The conviction of a Jewish citizen in Iran for a charge such as murder, especially leading to the death of a Muslim citizen, is a rare event. According to Israeli media, about eight thousand Jews reside in Iran. Before the revolution in Iran, over one hundred thousand Jews lived in the country.