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Valiollah Feyz Mahdavi is a 28-year-old
sympathizer of the Mojahedin Khalq
Organization, which the government has outlawed. The authorities arrested him
in 2001 and charged him with the crime of ?armed
resistance against the state.? Mahdavi?s
trial did not meet international standards for fair trial because he was denied
access to a lawyer. The court sentenced him to death, and he is now being held
in Gohardasht prison in
According to Iranian activists, the prison chief and his executive deputy over
the past two weeks have repeatedly told Mahdavi that
he will be executed during the Persian New Year holidays.
Human Rights Watch expressed grave concern for Mahdavi?s
safety, particularly following the February 7 execution of a member of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization, Hojat Zamani, in Gohardasht prison in Karaj. The
same prison officials reportedly issued similar threats against Zamani during the weeks leading to his execution.
Human Rights Watch called on the Iranian government to halt all executions of
prisoners and to hold a fair and public trial for Mahdavi
with access to legal counsel, or to release him from detention.