The chief of Iran’s judiciary has issued a decree ordering judges not to detain suspects unless charges are pressed against them, Iranian newspapers reported Wednesday.
According to Agence France-Presse, which quoted the newspaper Hemayat, the latest decree on detentions reads: “Refrain from summoning people without pressing charges. Refrain from holding people under arrest without pressing charges. Refrain from pressing bail without setting charges.” It also ordered judges to “refrain from summoning people without sufficient proof.”
Iran’s Constitution states that suspects should not be held for more than 24 hours without being charged. Iran’s system of criminal punishment — which includes public executions, stoning for adultery and child executions— has been sharply criticized in recent months by human rights organizations, United Nations, European Union and many other countries.
It is unclear if the decree by the judicial chief, will have much impact because the country’s intelligence apparatus generally holds people without charges, and it does not consult judges.
In 2002, Shahrudi called on judges to stop sentencing people to death by stoning, although Islamic law specifies that punishment for adulterers. Despite the order, at least one man was executed last year by stoning and at least two imprisoned women have received the sentence, according to women’s activist groups.
Earlier this month Ayatollah Shahrudi also issued another decree, banning public executions. Islamic Regime in Iran had been openly practicing public executions and detaining without charges ever since its inception 29 years ago.
The two recent judicial decrees to ban public executions and detention without charges are the direct results of the continuous pressures and appeals that forced the leadership of the Iran to give in to the internal and international demands.
SCE welcomes the two recent decrees and additionally demand that Ayatollah Shahrudi order an immediate halt to all child executions until the passage of the Parliamentary juvenile bill which has been blocked for the past 4.5 years by the ultra conservative forces inside and outside the Islamic parliament as well as by the members of the Islamic guardian council.
According to the official Iranian news agency 
executions, the European Union and its candidate countries (42 states) issued a condemnation of Iran’s ruling regime for its new surge of juvenile execution orders. Stop Child Executions Campaign thank the president of European Union and its members and candidates for this responsible and humanitarian action and encourage United Nations and all countries of the world to also condemn violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the Islamic regime in Iran.
Yesterday, I took over Amir’s case who was arrested at the age of 16 for alleged first degree murder and sentenced to death. After reviewing the file and due to the numerous errors, I requested a correction according to the article 18 of Public and Revolutionary Courts Procedures from the Judge. On November 7, 2006, around 11:30 am, the defendant was at the bakery located on Azadegan Street in the city of Shiraz with his two friends Mr. Hassan Mohammadi and Ali Soleymani when accidentally, they ran into the victim: Mr. Mohssen Kazemi, and his friend, Mr. javad Vaziri. They engaged in a verbal argument that was completely childish and unintentional and the argument lead to a physical dispute. At this point, Amir interfered and tried to scare off the other group with the use of a knife borrowed from his friend: Ali Soleymani, and held the knife in case it was needed for self defense. It seems the victim started to badger the defendant, who was younger than him, for no apparent reasons and provoked him. In order to scare off the victim to leave, Amir showed off the knife. Unfortunately the victim did not leave the premises and hit the defendant on the face. In response, Amir hit the victim with the knife’s handle, hoping that he would leave. However, the victim stayed and due to the chaos and while the victim was walking towards the defendant with the intention of hitting him again, the defendant moved the knife towards the victim and the knife hit the victim on the right side of his chest. The defendant panicked and fled the scene and discussed the matter with his father the same day and then turned himself in to the authorities. 