Two prisoners identified by their first names as Shayan and Bahram, who are residents of Tehran, were sentenced to death 12 years ago for murder, according to the state-run ROKNA news agency.
The two men are still kept in an undetermined state because the victim’s family have not followed up the case. “Shayan and I went to Mostafa’s home for a car deal but he was not in a normal state,” Bahram said in the court hearing. “I don’t know why he attacked us with a machete. Me and Shayan tied a handkerchief around his neck and choked him… We were young then but now it’s been 12 years that we have been in prison. I cannot tolerate this anymore,” he added.
“The lack of follow ups by the victim’s family has kept us waiting for our execution through all these years,” Shayan said in court.
Many of death row prisoners in Iran have spent prolonged terms living with the nightmare of their execution, in some cases more than a decade. Some have had their executions scheduled then postponed or stayed at the last minute on multiple occasions, adding to their torment.
