Mr. Alinejad:  In a fight that he did not start, and where his escape route was blocked, he was attacked, and was beaten with a set of numb chucks, and was bloodied and injured by the blows. So he tried to defend himself from these blows by pulling out a knife.  He was a kid, so he acted like one, and unfortunately someone got killed.  The conditions in the court during the proceedings were very bad.  Despite the fact that he was a kid under the age of 18, as soon as he would enter the court they would tell him that they were going to execute him, and that had a significant negative impact on his emotional and mental state so that he did not even have the strength to defend himself in court.

So I wrote a 21 page defense and I submitted it to Mr. Mostafaei, wherein I explained all the issues.  Unfortunately, our leaders have no understanding of rights, and they have not learned about them!  They are not even aware of Koranic laws! 

MH:  Mr. Alinejad, were you, yourself present in court?  Were you there on the day that he was sentenced?  When was his first sentencing? 

A:  I don’t have the paperwork with me, but the first sentencing appears to have been in year 1381 (approximately 2002) because the fight took place in 1381.  But the sentence was not issued until 3 months later, which would have been in 1382.  And at that time, it was extremely apparent that the sentence had been issued before a trial was even conducted.  The court did not pay attention whatsoever to the defense put forth by our lawyer!

MH:   Mr. Alinejad, they sentenced Reza in 1382, so he has been in prison for almost 6 years.  That means that for 4 years, his case has been in a state of limbo. 

A:   He has been in jail since the last months of year 1381 until now, which means that it’s approaching 5 years now. 

MH:   That means that he has been in jail for 5 years while his case has been in limbo.

A:  Yes, in a limbo and in our opinion, even the most basic human rights were not observed in this case.

MH:  In his own answers, Reza has stated that this was not a murder, but it was an act of self-defense to save his life.

A: Yes.  He has repeatedly stated that he never intended to kill his attacker.  He just wanted to defend himself.  But the judge would put words in the mouths of this teenager and would say that you intended to kill him.

MH:  Mr. Alinejad, what expectations do you have from international organizations and human rights?   What do you have to say about this incident and to the people who are actively trying to obtain a stay of execution in this case? 

A:  Even though I agree with the Islamic Republic and Iran’s current regime, I must say that it appears that in Iran there are no human rights!  We want the international community to get involved so that the judiciary can start thinking about human rights, to grant human rights, and to change the laws.

MH:  Mr. Alinejad, you know that when a person under the age of 17 commits a crime, because Iran is a signatory to international conventions and treaties that prevent the execution of children and teenagers under 18, Iran can not execute them.  Reza was 17 when he was arrested, and now, it is 5 or 6 years that he is in a state of limbo there  and could not have been executed.   When did you receive his official death sentence? 

A:  His sentence of death?

MH:  His final death sentence.  When was it issued?  Has it been issued?

A:  They issued the death sentence in the first proceeding.  In 1382 they issued his official death sentence.    

MH:  The sentence was never reviewed on appeal?

A:  Branch 16 of the Supreme Court has twice denied this sentence.  However, the issuing court has insisted on the validity of its order and voted to uphold it.  The court took up the validity of its ruling before a panel, and approximately 40-50 panelists made a grave mistake:  They voted on the case without even reading the file!  And this is truly unfortunate. 

MH:  Yes.  Yes.   When was this last hearing, Mr. Alinejad? 

A:   The last one was after that hearing, which came to Fesa, and now they want to send it to [another location].

MH:  What was the date of this last hearing? 

A:  The last hearing was [April 9, 2006].   When 40-50 panel judges make such grave mistakes, you can imagine what goes on in Iran and what is happening to the people of Iran. 

MH:  Mr. Alinejad, have you filed any objections to this ruling?

A:  We have filed an objection, but it has not yet been received by Mr. Shahroudi.  We want to present this to Mr. Shahroudi. 

MH:  Yes, yes.  In any event, Mr. Alinejad, it is unfortunate that these types of situations occur.  We are truly sorry for the family of the deceased, for it, too, has lost a child and a loved one.  However, it is not right, from a societal standpoint, to execute a 17 year old child especially when evidence in the case establishes the fact that Reza was acting in self-defense.   We will try to do everything we possibly can to save Reza, and this file has been sent to various human rights and international organizations and it will be sent to even more.  Please keep us posted.

A:  I thank you very much.

MH:  You’re welcome.  We wish you success.

A:  Thank you.  Goodbye.