The Principle of Ali’s School:  This boy is not a murderer

While efforts to save the life of Ali Mahin Torabi, an Iranian youth who has been sentenced to death by hanging, continue, this morning (Tehran local time), Ali was informed that he should begin preparing himself for execution.

Ali contacted his family and informed them that, this morning, he was summoned to the prison’s office, where the officials announced that his execution was scheduled to take place within the next 15 days. 

This latest development has taken place despite the fact that the principal of Ali's former school, Mr. Hassanpour, has stated that Ali was not the one who stabbed Mazdak.  The principal is now even ready to testify to this fact in court.  “I was there when the scuffle broke out,” the principal explained, “and from only 5 meters away, I could see what was happening.  Although I never saw Ali stab Mazadak, the force of the crowd that had gathered pushed Mazdak towards Ali, and if Mazdak was ever stabbed by a knife, it was not intentional.” 

Mr. Hassanpour went on to state:  “In court, no one requested that I testify about what I saw, and I didn’t know that the judge could probably sentence Ali to death based on the statements of a few eye-witnesses.  However, when I saw that they sentenced Ali to death, I tried repeatedly to tell Mazdak’s family that they have made a mistake.  But Mazdak’s father was not willing to hear what I had to say.  I also went to the court and they didn’t listen to me either.”

Ali Mahin Torabi, who is accused of killing Mazdak Khodadadi by stabbing him with a knife when he was only 15 years old, was one of the top students at a school in Gohardasht, Karaj.  He was imprisoned since the incident that led to Mazdak's death, and despite the fact that he has repeatedly stated that the does not remember ever stabbing Mazdak, or that even if he had done so, it could not have been intentional, he was sentenced to death by hanging. 

Although some time ago, it had been reported that Iran’s head of judiciary, Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi has not given his permission to execute Ali, prison officials have informed him that he will be executed in the next 15 days.