Iran stays execution of two juvenile offenders - Agency
Washington, 10 June (IranVNC)—Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi today ordered a one-month stay of execution for two young men, who were expected to be hanged tomorrow, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported today.
By: IranVNC
Published: Tuesday, June 10, 2008
20:07GMT—2:07PM/EST
IRAN – EXECUTION – YOUTH – HUMAN RIGHTS
Washington, 10 June (IranVNC)—Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi today ordered a one-month stay of execution for two young men, who were expected to be hanged tomorrow, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported today.
“On the order of Ayatollah Shahroudi, the execution sentence for Behnoud Shoja’i and Mohammad Fada’i was given a stay of one month to reach an agreement [with the victims’ families over blood money],” Fakhreddine Jafarzadeh, an official at the prosecutor’s office, was quoted by ISNA as saying.
Under Sharia law, the victim’s family can spare a murderer from execution by accepting blood money for the victim’s life.
The suspensions of the death sentences followed protests by top United Nations human rights official and the EU today. The two offenders were both under the age of 18 when they allegedly committed their crimes.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, asked Iran to stay the executions of four “juvenile offenders in strict compliance with its international human rights obligations,” AFP reports. The two other offenders are Saeed Jaziie and Behnam Zareh.
The EU Presidency, currently headed by Slovenia, also called on Iran to “fully and unconditionally” respect its international legal obligations.
Iran is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits the execution of minors or people who were minors at the time of their conviction.
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have asked the Islamic Republic to raise the age of legal responsibility under the country’s Islamic legal system, which considers a boy punishable from 15 years old and a girl from 9 years old.
According to an AFP count, Iran has executed at least 100 people this year. The rights group Human Rights and Democracy in Iran has called the recent rise in hangings a “new wave of executions” that is aimed at “creating fear among the people.”
Iran executed 317 people last year, second only to China, an Amnesty International report found earlier this year. The rights group also said that as of January 2008, at least 86 juvenile offenders were awaiting execution in Iran.
Sources: ISNA, Agence France-Presse, EU Presidency website, Human Rights and Democracy in Iran blog, Amnesty International website
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