The family of Erfan Soltani, the first Iranian prisoner to be sentenced to death during the current wave of unrest, has been informed that his execution has been postponed.
Soltani is a 26-year-old man who was employed at a clothing store and was arrested last week in Karaj (a city located to the northwest of Tehran) after participating in the protests. Human rights groups say he was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday.
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After he was arrested, little information was given to Soltani's kin about his condition except for a brief scheduled family visit prior to his scheduled execution. Prison authorities notified Soltani's family on Wednesday, shortly after he was supposed to be executed, that the execution had been postponed and did not provide any additional information regarding the case.
Family anxious
A relative of Soltani, Somayeh spoke before the postponement of his execution. According to a report by The Guardian, the 45-year-old relative who lives abroad, said, "I spoke to his (nuclear) family yesterday and all I know is that they were trying to visit him in prison. I haven't slept in two days."
He informed that other family members stayed up till dawn waiting to hear the news as such executions are usually carried out by Iranian authorities around the morning call to prayers. "I can’t stop thinking about Erfan. The uncertainty is killing me," Somayeh was quotes as saying by The Guardian. "How can anyone have the heart to put a rope round the neck of such a kind child and send him to die?" he added.
Family calls on Trump to help
Calling on US president Donald Trump for help, CNN quoted Somayeh as saying, "Our demand now is that Trump truly stand behind the words he said, because the Iranian people came to the streets based on those statements. An unarmed population trusted these words and is now under gunfire. I beg you, please do not let Erfan be executed. Please."
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Case access denied
Meanwhile, Hengaw, a Norway-based human rights organisation, had earlier reported that Soltani's family was denied access to any information regarding his case. His sister, a lawyer, tried to pursue the case "but authorities have so far prevented her from accessing the case file", the organisation had said.
