Iran supreme court rejects retrial for Jew facing imminent execution

US Jews and others raised $1.5 million to save Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani, but without success.

 Iranians chant during an anti-Israel rally in Tehran, Iran, April 19, 2024.  (photo credit:  MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)
Iranians chant during an anti-Israel rally in Tehran, Iran, April 19, 2024.
(photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)

Iran’s Supreme Court has dismissed a retrial request for Iranian Jew Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani, who is slated to be executed for allegedly killing an Iranian Muslim man in self-defense, the Iran Human Rights Organization (IHRNGO) said Saturday.

Ghahremani’s dire plight was reported by London-based news organization Iran International.

Ghahremani is either 23 or 24 years old, according to Beni Sabti, who was born in Tehran and is an Iran expert for the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel.

The clerical regime arrested Ghahremani two years ago for the altercation with an Iranian Muslim man, Amir Shokri.

The regime enjoy executions, says expert

“The decision places Ghahremani at immediate risk of execution, underscoring a judicial process marred by [poor] oversight and lack of fair representation,” Iran International reported, according to IHRNGO.

Ghahremani’s family has insisted he only acted in self-defense. Shokri first attacked Ghahremani with a knife, according to reports.Iran’s judicial system prioritizes the rights of Muslims over Jews, Christians, Baha’is, and other religious and ethnic minorities.

“In these last days and weeks, there have been international efforts to release him and get the Muslim family to forgive him and turn the execution to a prison term,” Sabti told The Jerusalem Post.

 “Jews in the US and other countries raised funds amounting to over $1.5 million, including an offer of an apartment and the building of a mosque in the name of the dead Muslim man,” he said. “It seems that they did not agree.”

 An anti-Israel billboard is seen next to the Iranian flag during a celebration following the IRGC attack on Israel, in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2024. (credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/via Reuters)
An anti-Israel billboard is seen next to the Iranian flag during a celebration following the IRGC attack on Israel, in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2024. (credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/via Reuters)

“I am not surprised,” Sabti said. “Most of the time, the regime and judiciary system do not cooperate with the person who is going to be executed. They enjoy it and do not care. They do not do anything to change the verdict.”

Iran’s regime makes no effort to reach a dead man’s family to convince them to spare the life of the person facing the death penalty, he said, adding that the Islamic Republic of Iran “enjoys the execution process.”


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Iran’s judicial process is widely considered to be one of the most barbaric legal systems, according to human-rights groups.

“At any hour, we can hear the news that he can be executed,” Sabti said.

The regime’s ice-cold attitude can mean they execute without warning, he said.

Judicial officials can “say to a family he will be executed on Wednesday, and the family comes on Monday, and they say he has already been executed,” Sabti said.

“This is Iran.”