IRAN: URGENT APPEAL FOR A YOUNG MAN FACING EXECUTION FOR PLAYGROUND DEATH WHEN AGED 16

Amnesty International launched an urgent appeal for Ali Mahin Torabi, convicted of a murder committed when he was 16 years old and now at risk of imminent execution. Now aged 21, he is being held in Reja'i Shahr prison in Karaj, near Tehran and his death sentence could be carried out at any time. Amnesty is asking people to send an urgent message to the Iranian authorities, urging them to stop the execution. Amnesty International is urging the Iranian authorities to implement a moratorium on all executions of child offenders as a first step towards a complete ban on such executions. On 3 February 2003, Ali Mahin Torabi was detained in connection with a playground fight at the Bani Hashemi High School. He was 16 years old at the time. The lawyer for Ali Mahin Torabi has repeatedly drawn attention to the lack of clarity and doubts surrounding the events leading to the death of Mazdak Khodadian, noting that the coroner reported that the blow did not enter the victim in a direct manner and that it was not consistent with an intentional blow.