“The young Iranian man who escaped a hangman's noose with just seconds to spare when his victim's mother intervened was the beneficiary of a high-profile campaign to save his life. In a case that has provoked surprise in Iran and across the world, the killer, known only as Balal, was saved dramatically on Tuesday, as a crowd looked on, awaiting his execution. He survived despite the mother of the man he murdered in a street fight seven years ago refusing an offer of so-called blood money until the very last moment at the gallows. As the blindfolded convict awaited his fate, a grieving Samereh Alinejad, who lost another son in a motorbike accident four years ago, emotionally asked out loud if those watching the spectacle unfold knew “how difficult it is to live in an empty house?” Instead of participating in “qisas” – in which under the sharia law of retribution relatives can push away the chair on which the condemned man stands – Alinejad pardoned the killer, imparting only a slap on his face as punishment”. – Agence France-Presse.

Balal (C), who killed an Iranian youth Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, is brought to the gallows by judicial officals during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. Samereh Alinejad, the mother of the victim, spared the life of Balal, her son's convicted murderer, with an emotional slap in the face as he awaited execution prior to removing the noose around his neck. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

Shargh newspaper said police officers led Balal to a public execution site in the northern city of Nowshahr as a large crowd gathered on Tuesday morning. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

The mother of an Iranian man Balal (C), who killed a fellow Iranian Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, asks for the family's forgiveness as her son is brought to the gallows during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

Officials prepare the noose for the execution of Balal, who killed an Iranian youth Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. Samereh Alinejad, the mother of Abdolah Hosseinzadeh, spared the life of Balal, her son's convicted murderer, with an emotional slap in the face as he awaited execution prior to removing the noose around his neck with the help of her husband. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

Balal, who killed Iranian youth Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, is brought to the gallows during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

Balal, who killed Iranian youth Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, is pictured blindfolded next to a noose during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

Balal, who killed Iranian youth Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, reacts as he stands in the gallows during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

The mother (R) of Abdolah Hosseinzadeh, who was murdered in 2007, removes the noose with the help of her husband from around the neck of Balal, who killed her son, during the execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014, sparing the life of her son's convicted murderer. The dramatic events 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. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

The mother (C) of an Iranian man named Balal who killed a fellow Iranian youth Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, pleads to God at the start of his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

The mother (R) of Abdolah Hosseinzadeh, who was murdered in 2007, slaps Balal who killed her son during the execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014 just before she removed the noose around his neck with the help of her husband, sparing the life of her son's convicted murderer. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

The mother of an Iranian man Balal (L), who killed an Iranian youth Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, cries with the mother of Abdolah Hosseinzadeh after she forgave Balal, giving him an emotional slap prior to removing the noose around his neck in the gallows during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

Samereh Alinejad (R), the mother of Abdolah Hosseinzadeh who was killed by a fellow Iranian, Balal, in a street fight with a knife in 2007, cries after she 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 in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

A police office kisses Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh (C-R) the father of Abdolah Hosseinzadeh who was killed by a fellow Iranian, named Balal, in a street fight with a knife in 2007, during Balal's execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

Bystanders applaud Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh (R) the father of Abdolah, an Iranian youth killed by fellow national Balal in a street fight with a knife in 2007, after he and his wife pardoned their son's convicted murderer, during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

The mother of Iranian national named Balal (C), who killed fellow Iranian youth Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, cries in her home ahead of his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

Samereh Alinejad (L), Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh (R) and their daughter sit on a sofa in front of a picture of their son Abdolah Hosseinzadeh who was killed by a fellow Iranian, Balal, in a street fight with a knife in 2007, after they spared the life of their son's convicted murderer during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. Alinejad 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 resported. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

Samereh Alinejad (L) and Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh (R) mourn at the grave of their son Abdolah Hosseinzadeh who was killed by a fellow Iranian, Balal, in a street fight with a knife in 2007, after they spared the life of their son's convicted murderer during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)