MDE 13/061/2006
Further Information on UA 70/06 (MDE 13/032/2006, 29 March 2006)
Imminent execution/unfair trial
IRAN : Valiollah Feyz Mahdavi (m), aged 28
02 June 2006
Valiollah Feyz Mahdavi’s death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment.
The Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, made the ruling in response to an appeal lodged by Mahdavi’s lawyer.
He is a supporter of an illegal opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), which has carried out armed attacks. He is believed to have been detained in 2001 and sentenced to death for moharebeh (enmity with God, a term often applied to those accused of armed resistance to the state). He was reportedly tried before a Revolutionary Court, but was allowed no legal representation, and the proceedings therefore did not meet international standards for fair trial.
He is detained in Gohar Dasht Prison, in the city of Karaj, near Tehran. On 24 March prison authorities reportedly showed Valiollah Feyz Mahdavi his death warrant, which gave his date of execution as 16 May 2006, and forced him to sign it.
Amnesty International recognizes the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but strongly opposes the death penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life.
Many thanks to all those who sent appeals on behalf of Valiollah Feyz Mahdavi. No further action is requested from the UA network.