Juvenile offender awaits execution in Iran’s Kurdistan Province
Washington, 18 August (IranVNC)—The death sentence against a Kurdish-Iranian youth, who was 17 when he was convicted of murder, today was upheld by Iran’s court of appeals. He awaits imminent execution in a prison in Mahabad in Iran’s Kurdistan Province.
By: IranVNC
Published: Monday, August 18, 2008
15:10GMT—10:10AM/EST
EXECUTION – MINOR – KURDISH
Washington, 18 August (IranVNC)—The death sentence against a Kurdish-Iranian youth, who was 17 when he was convicted of murder, today was upheld by Iran’s court of appeals. He awaits imminent execution in a prison in Mahabad in Iran’s Kurdistan Province.
According to Amir Kabir University student newsletter [AUT News], Amir-Karim Bahrami, who is now 21 was tried without representation and convicted of killing an individual during a group fight when he was 17. According to the wishes of the family of the victim, Bahrami was sentenced to “retribution” [Qesas], which led to his death sentence.
Bahrami, who has consistently denied having committed the crime, told Iran’s Committee of Human Rights Defenders [CHRD] in a phone conversation that he is not afraid of dying, but would like the people in his hometown of Mahabad to know the truth.
Despite being a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran continues to sentence minors to death and carry out these executions.
According to a statement by nine international human rights groups, released on 30 July 2008, there are currently at least 132 juvenile offenders on death row in Iran.
The groups, which included Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, said Iran had executed eight minors in 2007 and four this year.
Sources: Amnesty International, Iran’s Committee of Human Rights Defenders, Amir Kabir University student newsletter [AUT News], Human Rights Activists in Iran website, Iran Human Rights Group website
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