Iran: Four Youths Face Execution

international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press

Thursday July 10, 2008 13:12

by pat c

Amnesty raises the case of four youths who face imminent execution in Iran. Full text at the link.

Iran executed 16-year-old Mohammad Hassanzadeh, an Iranian Kurd on 10 June 2008 for a crime committed when he was 14. Four other juvenile offenders are at risk of execution between 11 and 25 July. 24 international and regional human rights organizations called on the head of Iran’s judiciary to suspend these four executions immediately.

Almost 140 juvenile offenders are known to be on death row in Iran, but the true figure could be even higher – for example, Mohammad Hassanzadeh’s case was not known to campaigners prior to his execution.

Iranian officials have attempted to justify killing juveniles by terming these killings “retribution” and not “execution.” Judiciary speaker Alireza Jamshidi: “In [Iranian] law we don’t have execution (‘edam) for persons under 18 years of age; what we have in the laws for persons between 15 to 18 is the issue of retribution (qesas).”

The distinction between “execution” and “retribution” is meaningless . By making such misleading statements, the Iranian authorities are attempting to obscure the fact that Iran is violating international law every time it executes a juvenile offender – whether or not the individual has reached 18 at the time of their execution.

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Young offender 'hanged in Iran'

Wed Nov 05, 2008 15:23

Another youth has been executed in Iran. Full story at link.

Dozens of juvenile offenders are believed to be on death row in Iran.

Human Rights Watch said the Afghan man, Gholamreza H, was hanged in Isfahan province on 30 October. He was 19 when the execution was carried out, but had been convicted for a murder he committed in November 2006 as a 17-year-old. 26 juvenile offenders have been executed in Iran since January 2005, out of a worldwide total of 32 known juvenile executions.

The execution was announced by judicial officials in Isfahan province.
The Iranian government recently announced an end to child executions, but a spokesman made it clear that did not include so called "blood money" or "Qeisas" cases, which make up the vast majority of executions. The Justice Ministry spokesman said these cases are not technically "execution" but "retaliation" on behalf of victims' families which is sanctioned by Islamic law and cannot be repealed.

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Iran: Four Youths Face Execution

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