Amnesty International has called on Iran to halt the execution of Saman Nasim, who was found guilty of enmity against God for membership in the PJAK group and is scheduled to be hanged on February 19.
In a YouTube video, Amnesty Secretary General Salil Shetty appeals to Ayatollah Khamenei to consider the fact that Saman Nasim had not reached the age of majority at the time he was arrested; therefore, his execution is against international conventions to which Iran is a signatory.
Saman Nasim was arrested on July 17, 2011, when he was 17, and charged with membership in PJAK, which the Islamic Republic considers a terrorist group.
Court records indicate that he was arrested with a number of PJAK members during an armed confrontation with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Sardasht Mountains in Western Azerbaijan Province.
The records indicate that one Revolutionary Guard was killed and three were injured in the incident.
Saman Nasim and his family maintain that he was not responsible for the shootings and his confessions were made under torture.
