Iranian regime claims prisoner who survived hanging is in coma.

Iranian regime claims prisoner who survived hanging is in coma. (NCRI).

An Iranian prisoner who survived a botched hanging has fallen into a coma, the state-run IRNA news agency reported today.

"His level of consciousness is around six per cent and the possibility of brain death will increase if the situation does not improve," IRNA quoted what it called an informed source as saying.

"The doctors cannot perform any surgery or other treatment while he is in a coma," said the source.

The prisoner, identified only as Alireza M, 37, was pronounced dead earlier this month by the attending doctor after hanging for 12 minutes from a noose suspended from a crane at a jail in northeastern Iran.

But the next day, staff at the mortuary in the city of Bojnourd where his shrouded body was taken discovered he was still breathing.

Many judiciary officials immediately called for his execution once he gets well.

Amnesty International called for an immediate stay of execution Alireza M and for all other death row prisoners in Iran.

Since beginning of this year at least 470 prisoners have been hanged with over 240 execution since sham presidential election in June.

 Related: Ayatollah: Iranian man who survived execution should not be hanged again.

" An Iranian grand ayatollah who issued a fatwa ordering the re-execution of convicts who come back to life has said his religious ruling should not be applied in the case of the man who revived in the morgue earlier this month."

" According to the semi-official Mehr news agency, Golpaygani has a fatwa in the second volume of his religious rulings, which says: "After the execution and before the burial, if the convict comes back to life while in the morgue or at the coroner's office and recovers after treatment, the verdict for Qisas (retribution) or Had (punishment) remains viable."

The references to Qisas and Had in Golpaygani's fatwa mean it only applies to sentences for certain crimes, called Hodud in the Islamic terminology, that are not at the discretion of the judge but are defined by sharia law.

Under Iranian sharia law, certain crimes such as sodomy, rape, theft, fornication, apostasy and consumption of alcohol for the third time are considered to be "claims of God" and therefore have a mandatory death sentence. Alireza is instead condemned to Tazir, a punishment that can be administered at the discretion of the judge, raising hopes that the judiciary might be able to change its mind over his case. .