Iran Leads the World in Executing Children

international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Sunday June 24, 2007 22:07 by Gregori Chicherin

New Executions Highlight Arbitrary Nature of Iranian Justice

No, its not just the Great Satan - the USA who executes those convicted of crimes committed while they were under 18, Iran does so as well. The difference is that Iran actually executes children aged under 18. Not just murderers, if you have sex outside of marriage or are gay it doesnt matter what age you are: The Mullahs will hang you or stone you to death.

Iran’s highest judicial authorities have repeatedly upheld death sentences handed down to juvenile offenders charged with committing crimes when they were as young as 15. Such sentences violate Iran’s international treaty obligations, which prohibit the death penalty for crimes committed by people under 18. In some cases, the death sentences also violate Iranian domestic law requiring that children under 18 be tried before special juvenile courts.

“Iran holds the deplorable distinction of leading the world in juvenile executions, and the authorities should end this practice at once,” said Clarisa Bencomo, children’s rights researcher on the Middle East at Human Rights Watch. “The Iranian government needs to stop sending children to the gallows and start living up to its international obligations by issuing clear legislation to ban the juvenile death penalty.”

Iranian authorities executed 17-year-old Sa'id Qanbar Zahi in Zahedan on May 27. According to press accounts, Zahi’s arrest, confession, trial, sentencing, and execution took place in the space of a few weeks. If true, these factors raise serious doubts that the 17-year-old was able to mount a meaningful defense, and raise further serious concerns about whether other basic fair trial standards were met.