The Campaign’s statement declares that its latest initiative “adds to the repeated entreaties of the UN Secretary General and other UN human rights bodies, leading human rights organizations worldwide, prominent Iranian activists, and governments around the globe who have called for the immediate release of these three leaders and all prisoners of conscience in Iran.”

In many cases these entreaties come with some urgency as Iranian prisoners face unlawful execution, torture, poor prison conditions, permanent damage to health, and death as a result of malice or negligence. Some current prisoners may not survive to be featured by the “Free Them Now” initiative, but the possibility remains that others may see improvements in their cases as a result of international pressure.

As of this writing, Saman Naseem is still scheduled to be executed on February 19 after being made the subject of an Amnesty International call to action last week, owing to his having been subject to an unfair trial and despite having been only 17 at the time he was arrested on the vague charge of enmity against God.

According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, the Iranian Supreme Court has yet to respond to a request to stop Naseem’s execution. But HRANA speculates that a recent, unexplained medical examination of the inmate may have been aimed either at simply assessing his condition prior to execution or at determining his age at the time of his arrest in order to determine whether the high court can justify halting the execution.