Stop Child Executions

President and Co-Founder of Stop Child Executions Nazanin Afshin-Jam will be speaking at the 4th World Congress Against the Death Penalty about juvenile executions between February 24th-26th in Geneva.

Source:
http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/01/sudden-and-unannounced-execution-of-two-political-prisoners-audio-interview-with-attorney/

Sudden and Unannounced Execution of Two Political Prisoners (audio interview with attorney)Nasrin Sotoudeh, attorney of Arash Rahmani Pour, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: “Arash’s father spoke to me on the telephone today and he had not been informed of the execution. This shows that not only was the execution carried out in secrecy, but not even the families were informed. The law necessitates the Judiciary to inform the family of a defendant and to allow for due judicial and legal processes to take place in the presence of the defendant and his attorney. All of this was foregone in my client’s case and we heard about this in the media after the fact.”

6 January 2010

 Committee of Human Rights Reporters– Amir Amrollahi was born on November 1, 1989. He was 16 years old at the time of his arrest. On November 19, 2005 he confessed to the police his involvement in the murder of another teenager Mohsen Kazemi. Amir had no intentions of committing murder. Five judges from branch 5 of Fars criminal court condemned him to execution without considering his age and his mental condition during the time of murder. The issued verdict was confirmed in branch 27 of the Supreme Court.

It should be noted that Iran has joined the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2006. Article 37 of the convention states: “Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age.” Additionally, based on clause 5 of article 6 of the Civil and Political Rights Act, capital punishment should not be an option for those who committed crimes before they were 18.

14 دی 1388

 Source: http://schrr.net/spip.php?article7722

فارسى

An interview with Benyamin Rasouli, a young man rescued from execution

In the Islamic Shaira Law practiced and imposed in Iran, in the case of murder (first or second degree, and even at times manslaughter), the family of the victim has the final say. They can either opt for Qesas, an eye for an eye punishment which would be execution in case of homicide, or forgive the defendant in return for Diah, or “blood money.”

Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that “…capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age.” Iran is a signatory to this convention [and has accepted this section without any condition]. Nevertheless, several young offenders in Iran are hanged each year.

The punishment for youth who commit murder, drug smuggling, and engagement in sexual relationships is punishable by death- this has been one of the most important human rights challenges in Iran.

Adolescents accused of murder committed the crime at a young age on another person their age as a result of immature conflicts. These youth are sentenced to death for manslaughter (homicide without premeditation and often accidental). Benyamin Rasouli is one of the youth who was released after the family of the victim forgave him. What follows is an interview conducted with Benyamin by Saba Vasefi.

Q: How was Hossein [the victim] killed?