URGENT ACTION
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/102/2006
14 September 2006
Further Information on UA 21/05 (MDE 13/003/2005, 25 January 2005) Death
penalty/Unfair trial New concerns: Fear of imminent execution/ medical concern
IRAN Khaled Hardani (m)
Khaled Hardani is reported
to be at risk of imminent execution. He was
sentenced to death for his part in the January 2001 attempted hijacking of a
30-seater passenger aircraft.
On 6 September 2006, Khaled Hardani's
father-in-law and wife met the Head of
the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, and the judge who
presided at Khaled
Hardani's trial. On hearing that Khaled
Hardani had not yet been executed, the
judge is reported to have said, "Has it not been carried out? We confirmed
it
and sent it for implementation". Ayatollah Shahroudi
told them that he was
unable to grant an amnesty in this case as his crime of hijacking was too
serious. His family members were given a letter, which was read out to them,
confirming his death sentence, although no date was set for his execution. They
were told to take it to the Office for Implementation of Sentences, which they
did on 9 September. Press reports have suggested that Khaled
Hardani may be
executed in the Iranian month of Aban, which begins
on 23 October.
Khaled Hardani was
originally scheduled to hang on 19 January 2005, but the
Head of the Judiciary ordered a stay of execution the previous day, apparently
to allow lawyers to appeal. In May 2006 Khaled Hardani, who is currently held
in Evin Prison in Tehran, told Amnesty International
from prison that following
the stay of execution, his case and that of his brothers-in-law had been
referred to the Board of Monitoring and Follow-up (Heyat-e
Nezarat va Peigiri),
which had failed to issue any decision. He said he had been left not knowing
his fate: "The death sentence is there. It has not been removed and at any
time
they decide, they can call me and say that your sentence must be carried out
today or tomorrow or in the next hour… The only thing that is in my file is the
order from [Head of the Judiciary] Shahroudi to stop
the execution. But for how
long it is going to be effective, is not clear. It is possible that they could
call me in the next hour and say that your sentence has been confirmed and you
must be executed tomorrow morning." He added that neither he nor his lawyer
had
ever received any documents concerning the confirmation of his death sentence
by the Supreme Court. He said, "For six years the Islamic Republic has
kept me,
together with my two brothers-in-law, under the sentence of death and have also
sentenced a brother of mine to 22 years’ imprisonment. In addition, my wife, my
small child and a number of my other relatives have been kept in jail for some
time... Have you ever experienced receiving a death sentence? Have your
partner, parents, brother, sister and relatives been told that tonight a close
relative of yours is going to be executed? Can you understand the horror and
shock of hearing such news? Have you even imagined that? But me, two of my
close relatives and our families have been going through this – not for a night
or two or few nights, but for a period of over two thousand nights." Khaled
Hardani also complained that he was not getting
adequate medical treatment for
injuries to his face sustained when he was shot during the attempted hijacking,
and that he had been denied visits from his family for three months.
Khaled Hardani announced
that he was going on hunger strike on 20 May 2006 to
protest at his ongoing detention and the uncertainty surrounding his fate. He
is believed to have stopped his hunger strike shortly afterwards. Khaled
Hardani’s two sons, aged 7 and 5, are both reportedly
suffering distress at
their father’s situation. His elder son, who is refusing to go to school, is
apparently receiving medical treatment as a result of this distress.
Khaled Hardani was one of
11 members of an extended family who attempted to
commandeer a scheduled flight between the southern Iranian cities of
Bandar Abbas, and force it to fly to
Security guards already on board ended the hijack attempt while the plane was
still on the runway at
process. The family were reportedly trying to escape the poverty and
hopelessness they were experiencing as members of
Hardani was sentenced to death, together with his
brothers-in-law, Shahram and
Farhang Pourmansouri, on
charges of "acts against national security" (eqdam
‘aleyhe amniyat) and Moharebeh, or "enmity with God", rather than
charges
relating specifically to hijacking an aircraft. At the time of the hijacking,
the brothers were reportedly aged 17 and 18 respectively. As a state party to
the International Covenant on Civil and political Rights (ICCPR),
undertaken not to execute anyone for an offence committed when they were under
the age of 18. The Head of the Judiciary reportedly ordered the executions of
all three men to be stayed because of the ages of the two brothers. It is not
clear if the confirmation of Khaled Hardani’s death sentence also applies to
the Pourmansouri brothers.
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AI Index: MDE 13/102/2006 |
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14 September 2006 |