By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran-Amnesty International has urged Iran to stop the second execution attempt of convicted drug trafficker Alireza M who was pronounced dead after hanging from a noose for 12 minutes.  The following day, mortuary staff discovered that he was still breathing.

When Alireza M’s family went to the morgue to retrieve his body, they were overjoyed that he was still alive.  “We found him alive again, which made his two daughters very happy,” stated an unnamed family member.

Alireza M is now currently recovering in a hospital while it is being argued whether the law requires that he be executed for a second time.  Iran’s judiciary chief, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, is faced with the difficult task of making the final decision.

Amnesty International has called for an immediate stay of the execution and for all other prisoners who are on death row in Iran, which currently executes more prisoners than any other country except China.

“The horrific prospect of this man facing a second hanging, after having gone through the whole ordeal already once, merely underlines the cruelty and inhumanity of the death penalty.  The Iranian authorities must immediately halt Alireza M’s execution and issue a moratorium on all others,” stated Phillip Luther, the Middle East and Africa program director at Amnesty.

However, one official stated, “The verdict was the death sentence, and it will be carried out once the man gets well again.”  Nourollah Aziz-Mohammadi, a high-ranking judge, reported that the law required the convict to be put death and back to the gallows for a second time.

“When a convict is sentenced to death, he must die after the sentence is carried out.  Now that he is alive, we can say the sentence was not carried out and must be repeated,” added Aziz-Mohammadi.

Other lawyers disagree, who have signed a petition to stay the execution in this exceptional case.  “In our law, nothing has been said about a person who survives hanging after 24 hours.  Since the sentence was carried out, there is no reason to repeat the sentence,” said Abdolsamad Khoramshahi, a signing attorney.

“Carrying out a second execution on a man who somehow managed to survive 12 minutes of hanging-who was certified as dead and whose body was about to be turned over to his family-is simply ghastly.  It betrays a basic lack of humanity that sadly underpins much of Iran’s justice system,” argued Luther.

It is believed that Iranian authorities have executed 508 people including 221 executions which were not officially confirmed throughout 2013.  Amnesty claims that the majority of these executions were related to drug offences.

For more information, please see the following: 

BBC-Amnesty urges Iran to spare hanging survivor’s life-17 October 2013

Independent-Amnesty urges Iran to halt second attempt to execute man who ‘survived hanging’-17 October 2013

RTE-Iran urged not to hang man who survived first execution attempt-17 October 2013

Times of India-Fate of Iran convict who survived hanging in balance-17 October 2013