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An execution in Tehran, Iran.
© AP Graphics Bank
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Updated 2 September 2005
This action is now closed.
Many thanks to those who participated in this action.
· There is no further news on Ali, Vahid, Sattar or Mohammad T. While they remain under sentence of death, their sentences have not been carried out.
· The use of the death penalty against child offenders in Iran remains a key concern for AI. Since the web action was opened,
the Urgent Actions issued on behalf of Rasoul Mohammadi and Abbas Hosseini (see below) attracted domestic and international media coverage, generated domestic and international pressure, and stays of execution were issued. On 8 May, the Tehran-based newspaper Kayhan, which has close links to the judiciary, published a statement by the judiciary's official spokesperson who acknowledged appeals sent by the UA network on the case of Abbas Hosseini, and announced the stay of execution. The statement denied that Abbas Hosseini would be executed, and concluded, "Amnesty International’s sources of information are not reliable … people under 18 are not executed…" This does not correspond with documented sentencing practice in Iran, or the findings of the UN committee dealing with children’s rights. Iran's judicial authorities have given similar public acknowledgement of appeals by AI, which we believe indicates the impact that AI action is having.
Children sentenced to death
AI has recorded four cases where death sentences were passed against child offenders.
· Seventeen year old Rasoul Mohammadi and his father Mousa Ali Mohammadi, were sentenced to death by a court in Esfahan for abducting 40 young girls, stealing their jewellery and raping at least four of them. Mousa Ali Mohammadi was publicly hanged in Esfahan on 16 April. Rasoul Mohammadi was granted a stay of execution because of “ambiguities” about his age.
· Nineteen year old Abbas Hosseini, an Afghan national was due to be executed on 1 May for a murder committed at the age of seventeen, which he said was in a “moment of insanity”. A stay of execution was granted until 8 May, reportedly in order to give the victim’s family the opportunity to accept the payment of compensation (diyeh) in return for the commutation of the death sentence. On 7 May the Head of the Judiciary ordered the local judiciary in Mashhad not to proceed with the execution, and referred his case to the judiciary in Tehran for review.
· On 26 August, an Urgent Action was issued on behalf of Mostafa, a 16 year old student, and Sina, a 17 year old musician, who have been sentenced to death. Their sentences have reportedly been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Five more child executions
In July three child offenders were reportedly executed, with another two executed in August. The total number of children executed in 2005 is now six.
· On 13 July 2005 Ali Safarpour Rajabi, aged 20, was hanged for killing Hamid Enshadi, a police officer in Poldokhtar. AI believes his crime may have been committed when he was only 16 years old.
· On 22 July 2005 Amnesty International issued a public statement on behalf of an 18-year-old, identified subsequently as Ayaz M., and a minor, Mahmoud A., who were publicly hanged in the northeastern city of Mashhad. According to reports, they were convicted of sexual assault on a 13-year-old boy. One of the accused was 17 years old at the time of the alleged crime; the other may also have been 17. The two young men also each received 228 lashes for theft, disturbing public order, and consuming alcohol.
· Farshid Farighi, aged 21, was hanged in prison in the city of Bandar Abbas. He was convicted of five counts of murder, reportedly carried out between the ages of 14 and 16. He is believed to have been flogged 74 times before his execution.
Kayhan newspaper reported that a 17-year-old was among four men under the age of 23, named only as A.P., B.K., H.K. and H.J., who were executed on 23 August in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran. They were reportedly convicted of kidnapping, rape and theft. A.P. and B.K. reportedly received 74 lashes each before they were executed.
Text of original appeal
9 February 2005
On 19 January 2005, Iranian authorities executed Iman Farokhi for allegedly committing a crime when he was 17 years old. The same day, an Iranian governmental delegation in Geneva stated that Iran does not execute children under the age of 18.
The Government of Iran has a history of stating that it does not execute child offenders, but the facts tell a different story.
Since 1990, 12 child offenders have been executed. Currently there are at least 30 others awaiting execution. Among them are Ali, Sattar, Vahid and Mohammad T, all children under the age of 18. (Read more about these cases.)
Iran is already a party to international conventions that prohibit child executions, and for the last three years Iranian authorities have been considering legislation that would prohibit the use of the death penalty for offences committed by persons under the age of 18. It is time for Iran to make good on its international promises and stop child executions.
Join Amnesty International and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in calling on Iran to immediately suspend the execution of all death penalties currently imposed on child offenders, and to permanently abolish the death penalty for persons having committed crimes before the age of 18.
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