Iranian killer spared from death as victim’s mother prevents execution

An Iranian mother spared the life of her son’s convicted murderer with an emotional slap in the face as he awaited execution with the noose around his neck, a newspaper reported.

The dramatic climax followed a rare public campaign to save the life of Balal, who, at 19, killed another young man, Abdollah Hosseinzadeh, in a street fight with a knife back in 2007.

In an application of the sharia law of retribution, the victim’s family were to participate in Balal’s punishment by pushing the chair on which he stood.