Cecil the lion from Zimbabwe that was killed by an American Dentist
Tehran - Tanavoli, who usually works in bronze and other metals and is a leading proponent of the Saghakhaneh style that captures elements of Iranian culture, said it still saddened him that Iran's last lion died some 50 years ago.
Published: Tue 4 Aug 2015, 12:14 PM
Last updated: Wed 5 Aug 2015, 10:54 AM
Iran's top sculptor Parviz Tanavoli is to dedicate a new work to Cecil, the lion who was killed by an American dentist in Zimbabwe sparking an international outcry.
"The cruel killing of the Zimbabwean lion known as Cecil broke my heart," said the 78-year-old, who has created many distinctive sculptures of lions in a career spanning six decades.
"In memory of him, I will be dedicating one of my latest lions to him in order to keep his memory alive and to help stop cruelty to animals," he told the ISNA news agency.
Tanavoli, who usually works in bronze and other metals and is a leading proponent of the Saghakhaneh style that captures elements of Iranian culture, said it still saddened him that Iran's last lion died some 50 years ago.
Zimbabwe has urged the extradition of Walter Palmer, the so-called trophy hunter from Minnesota who attracted widespread derision after shooting the lion and posing for a picture next to its body.
Palmer paid $55,000 for the hunt earlier this month in which he shot Cecil with a powerful bow and arrow outside Hwange national park in the west of Zimbabwe.
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The story so far...
Shafqat Hussain's execution was scheduled for the fifth time on 4 August.
* Shafqat was arrested and sentenced to death in 2004 for the kidnapping and involuntary murder of a 7-year-old boy, who lived in a Karachi apartment building where he worked as a security guard.
* His lawyers maintain he was under 18 years of age when the crime was committed and that he was forced to 'confess' under torture.
* Shafqat Hussain was arrested and sentenced to death in 2004.
* According to Hussain's family, he was 14 years old at the time of the offense he was convicted of.
* He has described that the police subjected him to torture and forced him to make a "confession" and has always maintained his innocence.
Timeline of the postponement of his executions...
Jan 14, 2015 - Earlier, scheduled to be hanged on January 14, 2015 the federal government stayed his hanging and ordered an investigation following protests by civil society members
March 19, 2015 - He was later scheduled to be hanged on March 19, 2015 but was yet again provided a last minute reprieve after protestors gathered outside the presidency.
A reinvestigation into the case was then ordered by the Interior Ministry. A three-member team of the Federal Investigation Agency was formed to ascertain his age which later concluded that Hussain was 23 years old at the time the court had announced its verdict.
May 6, 2015 - Hence the conclusion regarding his age was drawn on the basis of the existing documentary evidence and not through a biological test. The ATC then issued a black warrant for Hussain on April 24 which scheduled his hanging for May 6.
However, the Islamabad High Court stayed his hanging for a day questioning the legality of the committee formed. Hussain had also filed an application seeking a judicial inquiry into the matter of verification of his age. He had expressed dissatisfaction over the FIA's inquiry. However, the IHC on May 11 dismissed the application.
June 9 - On expiration of the 30-day stay, the Superintendent Central Jail Karachi wrote to ATC III judge demanding to issue fresh death warrants for the convict. Later, the ATC had issued black warrants for Hussain for the fourth time, for June 9.
Aug 4, 2015 - Scheduled for the fifth time
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