Iran Orders Execution Survivor Hospitalized and Re-Hanged Once Well Enough

by Mark Wilson

“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,” observed Philip Luther, director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program.

An Iranian man identified as Alireza M., 37, was sentenced to death after being convicted of a drug offense. The man dangled for 12 minutes from a noose suspended from a crane at a prison in the northeastern Iranian town of Bojnurd in September 2013, according to Iranian news accounts.

A physician pronounced him dead. As his family drove to the prison morgue to collect his remains the next day, however, staff discovered that he was still breathing.

The presiding judge ordered the man hospitalized and re-hanged “once medical staff confirm his health condition is good enough,” according to Iranian news accounts.

The order “does appear to be setting a precedent, to the best of our knowledge, in cases of hanging,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Calling the order unconscionable, Amnesty International pleaded with the Iranian government to grant a stay of execution for the man, and for all condemned Iranian prisoners. Fortunately, Iranian officials agreed not to hang Alireza again, in late October 2013.

Second only to China in executions, Iran appears to be accelerating its rate of hangings, Ghaemi noted in a report on his organization’s website.

Iran is believed to have executed 508 people in the first nine months of 2013, Amnesty International said. Interestingly, Hassan Rouhani took office as Iran’s new president in August 2012 and quickly began conveying a softer Iranian image abroad. Meanwhile, at least 125 Iranians have been hanged in Rouhani’s first month in office, most for drug offenses, noted Ghaemi.

Source:New York Times News Service