Amnesty International – Iranian authorities must urgently halt the execution of Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani, who was sentenced to death in an unfair trial on the charge of “enmity against God” (moharebeh), said Amnesty International amid fears that he may be executed as soon as Sunday 1 June.

The family members of Gholamreza Khosravi were informed by prison officials on Saturday 31 May that they must go to Raja’i Shahr Prison, near Tehran, in order to meet him outside the regular visitation hours, sparking fears that his execution may be imminent. He is currently held in solitary confinement. Death row prisoners are generally transferred to solitary isolation units before their executions take place.

“Yet again Iranian authorities are about to execute a man who did not even receive a fair trial in total disregard of both international law and the Iranian law,” said Hassiba Hadj Saharoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

The definition of the charge of “enmity against God” under the new Islamic Penal Code is more restrictive and imposes the death penalty only for those who have actively taken up arms. The execution of Gholamreza Khosravi will be a breach of Iran’s domestic law as well as International law, which stipulates that an offender should benefit from a subsequent law that imposes lighter penalties.