Birth certificate shows Iran hanged minor – Daily
Published: Thursday, June 26, 2008
01:56GMT—9:56PM/EST
IRAN – MINOR – EXECUTION
Washington, 25 June (IranVNC)—According to a copy of Mohammad Hassanzadeh’s birth certificate, published by E’temad Newspaper on Wednesday, Hassanzadeh was 16 years and 11 months old at the time he was executed on 10 June. Iranian authorities said earlier that Hassanzadeh, who was sentenced on charges of manslaughter, was 18 years old at the time of his hanging.
E’temad Newspaper, which published a facsimile of Hassanzadeh’s birth certificate on Wednesday, also reported that his parents were only notified of their son’s execution after they went to the prison to visit him.
At age 15, Hassanzadeh was convicted of killing a 10 year-old boy in a fight, without prior intent.
Iran is signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits the execution of minors. International human rights groups, charge Iran with executing minors, a charge Iran denies.
The European Union last week asked Iran to abide by its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and cease executing those who are convicted of a capital offense under the age of 18.
According to Human Rights Watch, Iran has sentenced 177 minors to death in the last decade and carried out 34 executions.
Sources: E’temad Newspaper, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch
© IranVNC 2008. All rights reserved.
(Original article written in Persian.)