Iranian Protester On Death Row Given Stay Of Execution

The Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran has stayed the execution of a 22-year-old convicted protester who suffers from a long-term mental disability, the judiciary says.

Mohammad Ghobadlou was sentenced to death in November 2022 for "deliberately” running a car over a group of police officers and "murdering" one. The following month, the Supreme Court rejected Ghobadlou’s appeal and upheld his death sentence.

Ghobadlou suffers from bipolar disorder, and authorities have denied him his medication while in custody, according to his family.

The young man’s relatives have appealed for clemency, while the police officer’s family has demanded retribution.

Amir Hashemi, who heads the Supreme Court’s communication department, tweeted on February 1 that Ghobadlou’s death sentence “has been stayed" following an appeal by his lawyer.

The Supreme Court ruled that precedence should be given to the right of the slain police officer’s family to demand or forego retaliation, and that Ghobadlou’s execution should be suspended in the meantime, its Mizan Online website reported.

Ghobadlou’s sentencing followed what Amnesty International called “grossly unfair sham trials, marred by torture-tainted “confessions” and failure to order rigorous mental health assessments despite his mental disability.”

His mother has said it had been established that he was not at the scene when the police officer died.

Iranian authorities have unleashed a fierce crackdown on anti-government protests that have rocked Iran for more than four months, killing more than 520 people and detaining over 18,000, activists say.

The judiciary has handed down stiff sentences to protesters. Around 20 of them have been handed capital punishment, and four have been executed so far amid international outrage.