Photos: Emotional Moment: Iranian mother spares life of son's killer in dramatic turn of events

An Iranian mother 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 reported today Thursday April 17 2014. The dramatic climax 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.
Check out the very touching pics below.

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

Balal was brought to the gallows by judicial officals.

Balal's mother asked for the family's forgiveness as her son is brought to the gallows during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr

Iranian officials prepare the noose for the execution of Balal, who killed fellow Iranian youth Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr

Balal, black-hooded and standing on a chair before a makeshift gallows, had the noose around his neck when Alinejad approached.

The dramatic climax 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.

She slapped him in the face and removed the rope from his neck assisted by her husband, Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh, a former professional footballer.

"I am a believer. I had a dream in which my son told me that he was at peace and in a good place... After that, all my relatives, even my mother, put pressure on me to pardon the killer," Alinejad told Shargh. "The murderer was crying, asking for forgiveness. I slapped him in the face. That slap helped to calm me down," she said. "Now that I've forgiven him, I feel relieved." 

Iranian women pray for forgiveness as Balal, an Iranian man who killed a fellow Iranian 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

Samereh Alinejad, Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh  and their daughter sit on a sofa in front of a picture of their son Abdolah

A high-profile campaign was launched by public figures including Adel Ferdosipour, a popular football commentator and TV show host, and former international footballer Ali Daei, appealed for the victim's family to forgive the killer.

The grave of Abdolah Hosseinzadeh is pictured.