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TO: IRAN SUPREME LEADER
-AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI
- Immediately commute all death sentences for those
sentenced to execution for crimes committed before the age of 18.
- Order the Judiciary and Parliament to immediately
implement the following recommendations:
TO: IRAN’S HEAD OF
JUDICIARY - AYATLLAH SHAHRUDI
- Immediately implement a moratorium on all
executions of persons convicted of crimes committed before the age of
eighteen. 2
In conformity with the international
juvenile justice standards immediately commute those sentences.
- Ensure that children in conflict with the law
have prompt access to impartial legal assistance, including assistance in
proving their age at the time of an alleged offense, and require police, prosecution,
and judicial authorities to record the ages of children who come before
them. 2
- Ensure that judicial authorities understand and
enforce the ban on juvenile death penalty, including providing judges and
prosecutors with training on its application, and by ordering a review of
all death sentences where there is doubt that the individual was over 18
at the time of the offense. 2
- Create a complete list of all juveniles who were
sentenced to death for crimes committed before the age of 18, including
their names, ages at the time of their alleged crimes, details of the
their case and where they are being kept.
- Order a complete review of all existing cases of
juveniles facing executions at all stages of arrest, investigation, trial,
and sentencing by judges trained in juvenile cases, and in developing
sentencing options that promote the rehabilitation and social
reintegration of children in conflict with the law.
- Assure that juveniles are only tried in
specialized juvenile courts by trained judges.
- Assign a special desk to consult and accommodate both
families of victims and of the accused. Assign mediation and
arbitration committees and counseling.
TO: IRAN’S PARLIAMENT
–MAJLIS
- Urgently revise and then approve the draft
Juvenile Crimes Investigation Act to ensure that it explicitly prohibits
the execution or life imprisonment without possibility of parole of those
convicted of crimes committed under the age of 18, including those
sentenced to qesas for murder or to death for hodoud crimes that carry the
death penalty.
-
Revise the Iranian Penal code in accordance with Iran's obligations under the ICCPR and the CRC not to
execute juvenile offenders.
- Codify the Iranian Penal code to include a
provision that juveniles only be tried in specialized juvenile courts by
specialized judges to deal with adolescent sensitivities.
- If convicted and sentenced to a prison term, it
should be mandated in lran's Penal code to hold juveniles in juvenile
detention and not in cells with
adults.
- Remove Elm-e-ghazi (judges understanding) as a
basis for issuing a verdict.
- Revise Iranian legislation to ensure that anyone
facing judicial execution by the state can seek pardon or commutation of
their sentence, in line with Iran's obligations under Article 6(4) of the ICCPR.
- Pass in to law the sale of all weapons including
cold weapons such as knives to under 18 as illegal.
- Endorse the terms of the Convention of the Rights
of the Child (CRC) unconditionally.
TO: IRAN’S PRESIDENT AND
RELATED MINISTERS
- Facilitate as a matter of priority the
outstanding request from the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions, and other children authorities, to visit Iran. 1
- Allow inspections of prisons where juveniles are
being detained to check for proper conditions. Facilitate regular visits
by UN, UNICEF, International Red Cross and other independent Iranian and international
human rights, children rights and prisoner rights organizations.
- Promote universal birth registration. 2
- The majority of murders by juveniles are caused
by fights resulting in knife wounds. As a preventative measure, include in
the nationalized curricula in middle school and high school regarding safe,
peaceful resolution to problems as well as general education regarding the dangers of carrying
knives and other weapons and the consequences to the use of such weapons.
Educate students about individual juveniles who have been imprisoned (or
were executed) as a result.
- Prohibit knives and other weapons on the school
grounds and implement proper measures in schools to ensure compliance.
- Provide access to special counseling sessions
with families of both victims and accused.
TO: THE UNITED NATIONS
- Clearly state that the imposition of the death
penalty on juvenile offenders is expressly prohibited by international
human rights treaties and that the prohibition on such executions is so
widely observed that it has attained the status of a peremptory norm of
international law. 2
- Publish a report of the countries who have
1. Not
signed the ICCPR and CRC and urge them to sign and implement these treaties.
2. Conditionally
signed the ICCPR and CRC (e.g. Iran) and urge them to unconditionally sign and
implement or fully remove their name from the list of countries which have
approved the conventions as such countries simply use their signatures for lip
service and propaganda while not fully committed to full implementations of the
terms of their agreements.
3.
Signed
or conditionally signed but do not comply. Demand their compliance or remove
them from the list.
- Issue deadlines and ultimatums to the above governments
for immediate compliance otherwise address non-compliance through
appropriate departments as well as at the UN General Assembly for
disciplinary actions.
- Call on Iran to put an immediate end to the practice and
ensure that their legal codes do not permit the execution of persons who
were under the age of 18 at the time of the offense for which they were
convicted. 2
- Provide Iran with technical assistance and supervision in
developing strong mechanisms to protect children at all stages of arrest,
investigation, trial, and sentencing, and in developing sentencing options
that promote the rehabilitation and social reintegration of children in
conflict with the law. 2
- Arrange for regular UN visits of the juveniles
and the prisons where they are being kept.
TO: International Community, governments, EUROPEAN
UNION, Human rights organizations and Activists
- Demand the Iranian authorities to comply with the
above recommendations and to announce an immediate moratorium on all
executions of those convicted of an alleged offence under age 18 at the
time of the crime, including those sentenced to qesas for murder. 1
- Demand the United Nations to implement the above
recommendations.
- Form an international coalition group of human,
children and prisoner’s rights organizations and activists to address the issue
of child executions jointly.
TO: IRANIAN LAWYERS AND
ACTIVISTS
- Create a coalition group of attorneys and human
rights activists to assist juvenile offenders with a toll free phone number,
website and email HOTLINE for access to the coalition attorney group.
- Publicize this coalition to the general public
through media, internet blogs and word of mouth so that minors facing death sentence and their families will
have someone to consult with prior to the court hearings as SCE has
observed that most known cases seem to have been referred to specialized
attorneys dealing with juveniles only after the initial execution verdicts
had already been issued.
- Create a standardized system and database of all
children known to face execution and follow each case. To start with the
SCE list of juveniles facing execution is the most comprehensive list at
this time: www.stopchildexecutions.com/scedata.aspx.
Additional information can be searched via SCE website at www.stopchildexecutions.com
and SCE news blog at http://scenews.blog.com
- Create a public relation contact or spokesperson
to issue press releases and liaise with Iranian and international human
rights groups, activists, news media, and the United Nations and
Government authorities.
- Form a committee to counsel and mediate between
families of the victims and the accused.
TO: IRANIAN MEDIA,
JOURNALISTS, ARTISTS, …
- Investigate and report the full name, age and the
news and details of the cases of juveniles facing executions as well as
those who have been executed. Create documentaries, articles and artwork
regarding the subject of child executions and its effect of the families
and the society.
- Warn adults , parents and especially the juveniles
about the dangers of using weapons including knives. Promote proper self
defense practices as well as use of tools such as pepper spray and alike for
self defense by adults.
TO: THE PARENTS OF
JUVENILE OFFENDERS
- Parents of juveniles on death row to form support
groups to communicate and share their experiences as well as forming a
joint voice to address the media and well as demanding change to the laws
from the government. Parents can also share their experiences in mediation
with the families of the victims and in obtaining proper counsel.
TO: THE GENERAL PUBLIC
-
Sign
the Stop Child Executions Petition available in 6 languages (www.stopchildexecutions.com) and
pass it on to your contacts.
-
Voice
your opposition to Child Executions by holding legal and peaceful rallies and
gatherings
-
Post
a link to www.stopchildexecutions.com
on blogs, internet forums and chat rooms.
-
Join and assist the Stop Child Executions team of volunteers
-
Make
a donation to
Stop Child Executions
-
Write
personal letters to the UN, at the following addresses, and ask them to
pressure the Iranian Officials to stop the executions of those who have
allegedly committed an offence before the age of 18.
UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon and
UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Navanethem Pillay
Petitions
Team
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr.org
Fax:
41 22 917 9022
ATTACHMENT:
LIST OF
JUVENILES FACING EXECUTION IN IRAN (www.stopchildexecutions.com/scedata.aspx)
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:
http://www.stopchildexecutions.com
http://scenews.blog.com
E-MAIL : info@stopchildexecutions.com
REFERENCES:
1- Iran - The last executioner of children - AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL – June 2007
2- Enforcing the
International Prohibition on the Juvenile Death Penalty - HUMAN RIGHTS
WATCH submission for the
Secretary-General's report on follow-up to General Assembly resolution 62/149
on a death penalty moratorium - May 30, 2008
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