IRAN: PRISONER HANGED IN SAVEH PRISON

April 30, 2018:

According to Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), on the morning a prisoner was executed at Saveh Prison on the charge of raping and murdering a five-year-old child.
The prisoner, identified as Reza Salehi, 34 years old at the time of the execution, was convicted of raping and then murdering a five-year-old child. 
Qasem Abdollahi, the head of the Ministry of Justice of Markazi Province said, “Reza Salehi was arrested a few whiles after the investigation started. He confessed to visiting the child’s mother especially at the night of the murder, but he only confessed to hitting the child, not the rape. Nevertheless, based on the evidence, the judges realized that the child was abused."
Abdollahi added, “after the Criminal Court issued the sentence in Saveh, it was objected to, but the Supreme Court approved the sentence and, afterward, the Head of the Judiciary was asked for permission (Estijaz) to carry out death penalty which was granted on April 28.”
He explained, “In case of Estijaz, the execution will be carried out even if the next of kin forgive the defendant or ask for blood money. In this case, the next of kin asked for blood money, and the defendant was hanged at Saveh Prison on the charge of raping Tabassom Bodaqi, a five-year-old child." Therefore, Reza Salehi was executed on the rape charge, not the murder charge.