Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani ( he, ארווין נתנאל בן סיונה) is an Iranian Jew whose pending execution by the
Iranian government in May 2024 was subject to an international campaign calling for his commutation.
Biography
Ghahremani is an
Iranian Jew from the city of
Kermanshah in western Iran.
In November 2022, then 18-year-old Ghahremani was involved in an altercation when seven men ambushed him at a gym, including Amir Shokri, a non-Jewish man who owed money to Gharemani. According to accounts, the man pulled a knife on Ghahremani, and the resulting altercation resulted in Shokri's death. Ghahremani was sentenced to ''
qisas
''Qisas'' or ''Qiṣāṣ'' ( ar, قِصَاص, Qiṣāṣ, lit=accountability, following up after, pursuing or prosecuting) is an Islamic term interpreted to mean "retaliation in kind",Mohamed S. El-Awa (1993), Punishment In Islamic Law, Amer ...
'' for murder, with the execution to be carried out at Kermanshah Central Prison on 18 May 2024, then 20 May 2024.
On 25 May, Iran's Supreme Court denied a request for retrial.
Campaign
Supporters of Ghahremani argued voiced concerns that elements of his defense were ignored during trial, including that he acted in self-defense and rendered aid to the injured party. According to experts on
Iran's judicial system, Ghahremani was being subjected to a discriminatory judicial system that prioritized Muslims over Jews.
Shokri's family reportedly repeatedly refused to accept ''
diyat
''Diya'' ( ar, دية; plural ''diyāt'', ar, ديات) in Islamic law, is the financial compensation paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of murder, bodily harm or property damage by mistake. It is an alternative punishment to ' ...
'', and attempts by Kermanshah Kalimian Association, the Jewish community in Kermanshah, to mediate with Islamic officials were unsuccessful.
The community also made appeals to the governments of Russian and Germany.
Global Jewish communities raised over $1.5 million and offered to build a mosque in the name of the deceased.
On 19 May, Ghahremani received a one-month stay of execution after a global pressure campaign, including by Persian Jewish communities around the world
and human rights organizations such as
Iran Human Rights
Iran Human Rights (IHR) (Persian language, Persian: سازمان حقوق بشر ایران) is a nonprofit organization, non-profit international non-governmental organization focused on human rights in Iran. Founded in 2005, it is a non-partisa ...
.
In the previous 28 days before Ghahremani's stay, more than 103 people were executed in Iran.
See also
*
Habib Elghanian, Iranian Jew executed shortly after the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
in 1979
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghahremani, Arvin
Iranian Jews
Antisemitism in Iran
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)