{"id":2270610,"date":"2007-11-06T23:07:39","date_gmt":"2007-11-06T16:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stopchildexecutions.com\/scenewsarchive\/?p=2270610"},"modified":"2023-04-13T05:25:22","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T05:25:22","slug":"human-rights-watch-calls-to-stop-execution-of-makwan-moloudzadeh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stopchildexecutions.com\/scenewsarchive\/2007\/11\/06\/human-rights-watch-calls-to-stop-execution-of-makwan-moloudzadeh\/","title":{"rendered":"HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH calls to stop execution of Makwan Moloudzadeh"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Iran: Revoke Death Sentence in Juvenile Case<\/font><\/h1>\n

Dubious Conviction Based on Recanted Testimony Requires Re-Trial
<\/font>
<\/h2>\n

(Washington, DC, November 3, 2007) \u2013 Iranian authorities should immediately prevent the execution of Makwan Mouloudzadeh and commute his death sentence, Human Rights Watch Organization<\/em> said today. Mouloudzadeh, 20, was sentenced to death in May by a court ruling on questionable evidence for a crime supposedly committed when he was a 13-year-old child.<\/font>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
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Makwan Mouloudzadeh faces death for crimes supposedly committed as a 13-year-old, which even his accusers admit never occurred. Ayatollah Shahrudi, the head of the Judiciary, needs to act now to ensure that his death sentence is revoked and Mouloudzadeh gets a new trial. <\/div>\n
Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n
  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

On May 25, Branch Seven of the Penal Court of the city of Kermanshah sentenced Makwan Mouloudzadeh to death on charges of raping three boys as a 13-year-old. The court handed down the conviction despite retractions on the part of his accusers during the trial and various apparent violations of Iran\u2019s criminal procedure law.  
\n 
\n\u201cMakwan Mouloudzadeh faces death for crimes supposedly committed as a 13-year-old, which even his accusers admit never occurred,\u201d said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. \u201cAyatollah Shahrudi, the head of the Judiciary, needs to act now to ensure that his death sentence is revoked and Mouloudzadeh gets a new trial.\u201d  
\n 
\nA journalist in Iran who has followed the case and spoken to Mouloudzadeh\u2019s father told Human Rights Watch that the authorities have determined the place where Mouloudzadeh is to be hanged in public, indicating that his execution may be imminent.  
\n \n<\/div>\n

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\nIn September 2006, three men complained to police in the northwestern town of Paveh that Mouloudzadeh had raped them seven years earlier. The police arrested Mouloudzadeh, and then humiliated him by shaving his head, placing him on a donkey, and parading him around the town.  
\n 
\nIranian laws regarding \u201ccrimes of chastity\u201d such as rape require that the office of the public prosecutor send the case for complete investigation to the penal court, where the judge may question the accusers and arrange for examination by a physician.  
\n 
\nSaeed Eghbali, Mouloudzadeh\u2019s lawyer, told the Iranian press that the office of the public prosecutor defied these laws, carried out investigations on its own, and took the case to court, where the judge refused to accept the accusers\u2019 retractions.  
\n 
\nDuring court proceedings, Mouloudzadeh claimed that all confessions he had made about the alleged crimes were false and coerced. The judge also refused to accept Mouloudzadeh\u2019s statements about being forced to admit to crimes he had not committed and did not dismiss the case.  
\n 
\nUnder Iranian law, \u201ccrimes of chastity\u201d such as rape are sent directly to the country\u2019s Supreme Court for final review. On July 19, Iran\u2019s Supreme Court approved the death sentence, which may be carried out at any time.  
\n 
\nBackground<\/b>  
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\nIran leads the world in executing juvenile offenders \u2013 persons under 18 at the time of the crime \u2013 and is known to have executed two juvenile offenders already this year. Syed Mohammad Reza Mousavi Shirazi, 20, was executed in Adel Abd prison in the city of Shiraz on April 22, 2007 for a murder he was found to have committed when he was 16. Sa`id Qanbar Zahi was executed in Zahedan on May 27, 2007 for a crime he was found to have committed when he was 17.  
\n 
\nHuman Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all circumstances because of its cruel and inhumane nature. In particular, in imposing sentences of death on people for crimes committed before the age of 18, Iran flouts clear and specific human rights obligations. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, both of which Iran has ratified, bar the imposition of the death penalty for such offenses. These provisions reflect the reality that children are different from adults. They lack the experience, judgment, maturity, and restraint of an adult.  
\n 
\nIranian officials claim that legislation pending in parliament since July 2006 would end executions of juvenile offenders. In fact, the legislation would only offer the possibility of reduced sentences in a small minority of cases.\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iran: Revoke Death Sentence in Juvenile Case<\/font><\/h1>\n

Dubious Conviction Based on Recanted Testimony Requires Re-Trial
<\/font>
<\/h2>\n

(Washington, DC, November 3, 2007) \u2013 Iranian authorities should immediately prevent the execution of Makwan Mouloudzadeh and commute his death sentence, Human Rights Watch Organization<\/em> said today. Mouloudzadeh, 20, was sentenced to death in May by a court ruling on questionable evidence for a crime supposedly committed when he was a 13-year-old child.<\/font>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n
Makwan Mouloudzadeh faces death for crimes supposedly committed as a 13-year-old, which even his accusers admit never occurred. Ayatollah Shahrudi, the head of the Judiciary, needs to act now to ensure that his death sentence is revoked and Mouloudzadeh gets a new trial. <\/div>\n
Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n
  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

On May 25, Branch Seven of the Penal Court of the city of Kermanshah sentenced Makwan Mouloudzadeh to death on charges of raping three boys as a 13-year-old. The court handed down the conviction despite retractions on the part of his accusers during the trial and various apparent violations of Iran\u2019s criminal procedure law.  
\n 
\n\u201cMakwan Mouloudzadeh faces death for crimes supposedly committed as a 13-year-old, which even his accusers admit never occurred,\u201d said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. \u201cAyatollah Shahrudi, the head of the Judiciary, needs to act now to ensure that his death sentence is revoked and Mouloudzadeh gets a new trial.\u201d  
\n 
\nA journalist in Iran who has followed the case and spoken to Mouloudzadeh\u2019s father told Human Rights Watch that the authorities have determined the place where Mouloudzadeh is to be hanged in public, indicating that his execution may be imminent.  
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