Jewish citizen is executed in Iran over 'self-defence' fatal stabbing

A Jewish man has been executed in Iran for murder after defending himself against a knife attack, as the knifeman's family refused to accept 'blood money' when they learnt his religious background.

Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani was executed today following a two-year battle by his family to save his life.

The 20-year-old was hanged at the central prison in the western city of Kermanshah after being convicted of murder following a savage street fight against Amir Shokri in 2022.

Shokri's family, who have ties to senior Tehran officials, had originally accepted blood money, as according to Iran's Islamic law of retribution which permits a financial alternative to execution.

When Mr Ghahremani was arrested, he was originally identified as a Shia Muslim and the family agreed to accept money to pardon him.

But they later demanded Mr Ghahremani's execution when they became aware of his Jewish heritage, according to Norway-based Iran Human Rights.

The director of the charity, Mahmood Amiry-Moghadam, said: 'In the midst of the threats of war with Israel, the Islamic Republic executed Arvin Ghahremani, an Iranian Jewish citizen.

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'However, in addition to this, Arvin was a Jew, and the institutionalized antisemitism in the Islamic Republic undoubtedly played a crucial role in the execution of his sentence.'

Human rights organisations claim Mr Ghahremani was acting in self-defence following the deadly altercation.

Mr Amiry-Moghadam told The Telegraph: 'There are so many flaws in the case.

'It was a group brawl in which one person was killed and Arvin was the only one who remained at the scene and waited for the ambulance to arrive and to help.

'It was not a premeditated murder.'

In Iran's religious-based laws, a non-Muslim who kills a Muslim can receive capital punishment.

But if a Muslim kills a non-muslim, they are only required to give financial compensation to the family.

Ynet reported earlier this year that Shokri's family came under pressure from a close aide of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the intelligence division of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps not to accept the financial settlement.

According to the defence, it was claimed Mr Ghahremani and Shokri were working out at a gym.

Shokri owed Mr Ghahremani money and a fight broke out.

Mr Ghahremani was stabbed by Shokri with a knife but the Jewish-Iranian man was able to wrestle the weapon from him and inflict a fatal back wound.

His family said the trial ignored key aspects of the defence including efforts to get Shokri to a hospital and save his life - details missing from court papers.

Iran's Islamic regime is widely accused of antisemitism which critics claim prevents fair trials in the religious despotism.

Many Jewish people fled Iran following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

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Jewish citizens are a small minority in Iran, a country of 85million, with only 20,000 estimated to remain.

Iran executed at least 834 people last year, the highest number since 2015 in the Islamic republic.

The number of executions, which Iran has carried out by hanging in recent years, was up some 43 percent on 2022.

At least 22 women were executed, marking the highest number in the past decade, the report said.

Fifteen of them were hanged on murder charges and NGOs have long warned that women who kill an abusive partner or relative risk being hanged.

It marked only the second time in two decades that over 800 executions were recorded in a year, after 972 executions in 2015, according to a join report by Iran Human Rights and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty.