Double Dead: Iran to Execute 37-Year-Old Man Who Survived Hanging

Alireza M was hanged on Wednesday by Iranian prison officials after he was found guilty of drug offences. A doctor examined the body after the 12-minute hanging and certified that Alireza M is dead.

His body was brought to the morgue and kept overnight. To the surprise of the morning staff Alireza was still breathing, prompting them to rush him to the hospital.

But Iranian authorities will execute him again to ensure that he serves his death sentence. Amnesty International asked Iran to stop the second execution.

His family found out that Alireza is still alive when they came to collect his corpse to bury the man. His two daughters are very happy that their dad survived the first execution, unaware there is a second one coming.

An administrative court rejected AI's call to spare the once-dead man's life, but the judge said, "The man has been sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court and his death sentence will be carried our once the medical staff confirms that his health condition is good enough."

Since Hassan Rouhani became the president of Iran in June 2013, the Middle Eastern country had executed about 560 people, including 200 under Mr Rouhani's administration.

The insistence of Iran in ensuring that Alireza finally dies elicited a negative comment from Philip Luther, the director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa programme. He was quoted as saying, "The horrific prospect of this man facing a second hanging, after having gone through the whole ordeal already once, merely underlines the cruelty and inhumanity of the death penalty."

He urged Iran not only to halt Alireza's second death but to also place a moratorium on imposing the death penalty on other Iranians with similar sentences.

Alireza's unexpected survival on his first death sentence happened on Oct 10, the World Day Against the Death Penalty.