BY DPA,
Tehran : Following a protest by the European Union (EU), the Iranian judiciary postponed the execution of a young man sentenced to death for having killed another man in a street brawl in Tehran in August 2005, the Iranian press reported Wednesday.
The EU presidency had voiced its deep concern over the execution of Behnoud Shojaee, which was to be effected Wednesday in Evin prison in Tehran, and called for the verdict to be revised.
The EU argued that Shojaee was a minor at the time of the crime and the death sentence issued by Iran was a contravention of international rights.
Without directly referring to the EU protest, Fars news agency reported that the postponement order came from the head of the judiciary, Hashemi Shahroudi, who is reportedly after a settlement with the victim’s family to avoid the death sentence.
According to prevailing laws in Iran, victims’ families can either demand the implementation of the death sentence or receive blood money instead.