Monday, June 22, 2015

Iran: Halt execution of young man in case riven with doubt - NEWS RELEASE

Amnesty International
June 19, 2015

   "The Iranian authorities must urgently commute the death sentence of Ehsan Shah Ghasemi, a 24-year-old man who faces imminent execution amid a flawed trial that cast overwhelming doubts over his guilt, said Amnesty International.
   Ehsan Shah Ghasemi was sentenced to death for stabbing Ali Khalili in the neck in July 2011, causing injuries that allegedly led to his death almost three years later in April 2014. The Supreme Court approved Ehsan Shah Ghasemi’s execution despite the absence of any conclusive evidence that the stab wound caused Ali Khalili’s death. The Chief Justice of Iran is expected to endorse the death sentence in the next few days.
   “Ehsan Shah Ghasemi is caught in the agonizing grip of a nightmare as he faces the gallows. His life is now in the hands of the head of the judiciary who must decide on putting a young man to death after a deeply flawed trial,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

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