Iran executed a man found guilty of killing his girlfriend when he was a minor at the age of 17, the judiciary said on Wednesday, despite calls from human rights groups to spare his life.
Arman Abdolali was executed at dawn in the Rajal Shahr prison near the capital Tehran. He was convicted of murdering Ghazaleh Shakour in 2014.
Amnesty International had appealed on October 11 for Iran to halt the execution of the 25-year-old. The group said he had been sentenced to death twice, in 2015 and 2020, but that the execution was stopped both times following international outcries.
Amnesty described the 2015 trial as "grossly unfair," saying the court relied on "torture-tainted 'confessions'" following Shakour's disappearance.
"This young man was not a criminal," Hadi Sadeghi, a judicial official, was quoted as saying by Iranian media in October.
"Like the victim, he came from a respectable family. In prison, Arman continued his studies to obtain a master's degree in education," he said.
"The two families knew each other and the victim and the accused intended to get married," Mr Sadeghi added.
The body of Shakour, who was 19 at the time of her disappearance, was never found.
The victim's mother had said she would forgive Abdolali if he revealed the location of her body, the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.
UN human rights experts also appealed to Iran to halt the execution.
"International human rights law unequivocally forbids imposition of the death sentence on anyone under 18 years of age," said the Geneva-based UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Iran executed at least 246 people last year, retaining its place as the most prolific user of capital punishment in the region and the second worldwide after China, Amnesty said.
In July, a senior Iranian official said the Islamic republic was doing its best to bring down to zero the number of executions of child offenders.
"We are going to the zero point," said Majid Tafreshi of the state-run High Council for Human Rights, insisting that was the "will of the system" of the country.
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
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Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.
Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.
The verdict Sri Lanka want to make history by becoming the first team to beat Pakistan in a full Test series in the UAE. They could not have made a better start, first by winning the toss, then by scoring freely on an easy-paced pitch. The fact Yasir Shah found some turn on Day 1, too, will have interested their own spin bowlers.
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• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
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Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
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Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
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