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IRAN DELAYS YOUNG MAN'S EXECUTION AFTER EU APPEAL
May 6, 2008: Iran's judiciary ordered a month's postponement of the execution of a young man sentenced to death for murder, a news agency said, two days after the European Union urged Tehran to spare his life.
Amnesty International said the execution of Behnoud Shojai, who the rights group said was 17 at the time of the crime three years ago, was planned for May 7. Iran's Fars News Agency did not mention the EU statement in its report, quoting a deputy public prosecutor in Tehran as saying the execution was postponed with the agreement of the victim's family.
Under Iran's Islamic law, sharia, the family of the victim can agree to pardon the murderer in exchange for "blood money", or financial compensation, but it was not clear whether this may happen in this case. (Sources: Reuters, 06/05/2008)
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