HUMAN RIGHTS activists are calling on Iran to lift the death sentence on an 18-year-old who has been falsely accused of sodomy.

Ebrahim Hamidi has been sentenced to execution, despite having no legal representation, and without any evidence.

Hamidi, who is not gay, was sentenced to death for lavat, or sodomy, on the basis of the ‘judge’s knowledge’ – a special loophole in Iranian law that allows judges to make subjective rulings without evidence. In Iran, a conviction for homosexuality can result in lashing, or death by stoning or hanging.

Hamidi had been represented by human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, who has since been forced to flee Iran after bringing to international attention the case of another of his clients, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani,  a 43-year-old Iranian mother of two who has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. He claims that after escaping from Iran, he made his way by car, horseback and foot to Turkey, where the Norwegian authorities arranged safe passage for him.

Mostafaei was expected to arrive in Norway yesterday to begin a life in exile while continuing his campaigns on behalf of his clients, including Hamidi. His wife remains in Iran, where he says she was abducted by authorities, before being freed last Saturday.

Hamidi was arrested two years ago in the suburbs of the western city of Tabriz in the East Azerbaijan province after a fight with members of another family. Three of his friends were also involved in the incident and were subsequently arrested. Later, the four were accused of homosexual assault on a man and of attempting to abuse him sexually.

Hamidi confessed to the crime after three days in detention, where he was allegedly tortured. The other three were freed in exchange for agreeing to testify against Hamidi.

Last month, Hamidi’s alleged victim retracted the accusation, and said he had been under pressure from his parents to make the false statement. But the local judiciary insists the execution will go ahead.

Meanwhile, his lawyer has vowed to continue to fight to have the conviction overturned. Mostafaei is credited with saving at least 50 people from execution during his career, among them many juvenile offenders. Amnesty International describes him as a “thorn in the side” of the Iranian authorities – but he says he is determined to return to his own country.

(Interview starts at 1.02)