A man who was to be executed in Iran for murder received the forgiveness of the victim ‘s mother when he was in the noose. Photographer Arash Kamooshi captured the scene when he went to photograph the execution of a 20 year old, Balal, for a murder committed when he was 13.
A man who was to be executed in Iran for murder received the forgiveness of the victim ‘s mother when he was in the noose. Photographer Arash Kamooshi captured the scene when he went to photograph the execution of a 20 year old, Balal, for a murder committed when he was 13.
Balal was already standing on a chair and the rope around his neck. Wearing leg irons, and a black ribbon covering her eyes. At that time, the mother of the young man who murdered Balal seven years ago and for which he had been sentenced to death appeared. The mother slapped him, in a gesture that symbolized the forgiveness from the family of the victim. Balal was led back to his cell, while both mothers (Balal’s mother and boy killed seven years ago mother) tearfully hugged.
In Iran, the law allows the families of the victims to take part in the execution of convicts by giving the final pushchair executed. But the family of Abdollah Hosseinzadeh decided to do the opposite. Her son was stabbed to death after a fight, but now the victim’s father admits that the solution is not to kill his murderer, who was then a teenager: ” Balal was inexperienced and could not handle a knife. He was innocent.”
Leaving aside the barbarity that is the death penalty, this gesture is wonderful. A slap to forgive. A gesture that, while expressing anger toward someone who has made you suffer, it is also a kind of end point. This mother refuses to admit the absurdity that a death is compensated by another death, and in turn, convey the need for a punishment. The final embrace of mothers is the best ending for an episode worthy of being remembered.
Led to more everyday situations, this story contains two teachings. First: It is always better to forgive; accumulated rancour damages especially the resentful. And second, forgiving doesn’t mean swallow everything without doing or saying anything. Sometimes it takes a slap. Even a symbolic slap.
