The family of Erfan Soltani, the first Iranian protester sentenced to death since the current unrest began, have been told his execution has been postponed. Soltani, a 26-year-old clothing shop employee, was arrested in Karaj last Thursday after participating in protests and was due to be executed on Wednesday, according to rights groups.
Since his arrest, his family had received little news about his condition besides a brief, scheduled visit before his expected execution. On Wednesday, hours after his scheduled execution, prison authorities called them and said the execution had been postponed, without offering further details. The family stayed up until dawn waiting for news, knowing that Iranian authorities typically carry out executions around the morning call to prayers.
Somayeh, a 45-year-old close relative of Soltani’s who lives abroad, said: “I can’t stop thinking about Erfan. The uncertainty is killing me. How can anyone have the heart to put a rope round the neck of such a kind child and send him to die?” Soltani has become a symbol of defiance for Iranian activists as authorities intensify their crackdown on a nationwide protest movement.
Rights groups say they fear there are many other cases like Soltani’s that are unknown due to an internet blackout in Iran, but that his case highlights the speed at which authorities are sentencing protesters. Soltani was denied access to a lawyer and legal defence, the Norway-based Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said. More than 18,000 people have been arrested and at least 2,571 killed over the last two weeks, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists news agency.
Protests started on 28 December after a sudden slide in the value of the country’s currency and have since spread nationwide and expanded to demands for political reforms. Rights groups have urged Iran to halt the execution of Soltani and other protesters arrested, with Amnesty International expressing fears that Iranian authorities could “once again resort to swift trials and arbitrary executions to crush and deter dissent”.
