Iranian man to be executed again after he survived first hanging attempt

Authorities in Iran have ordered that a prisoner who survived execution by hanging be hanged again. The 37-year-old, identified as “Alireza M”, was hanged in Bojnourd prison in north-east Iran last week after being convicted of drug offenses.

A doctor declared the man dead after the 12 minute-hanging, but when the prisoner’s family went to collect his body the following day he was found to still be breathing. He is currently in hospital, but a judge reportedly said he would be executed again “once medical staff confirm his health condition is good enough”.

Alireza M is now reported to be in a “satisfactory” condition in hospital, and a family member has reportedly said that the prisoner’s two daughters were “the happiest of all” that he is alive. Amnesty International has called for his second execution to be stopped. “This is simply ghastly. It betrays a basic lack of humanity that sadly underpins much of Iran’s justice system,” said Philip Luther, the organization's director for Middle East and North Africa.

“The horrific prospect of this man facing a second hanging, after having gone through the whole ordeal already once, merely underlines the cruelty and inhumanity of the death penalty. The Iranian authorities must immediately halt Alireza M’s execution and issue a moratorium on all others.”