IRAN: 114 Child Offenders Awaiting Hangman’s Noose

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran ^ | June 18, 2008 | staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

18 June 2008) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran published a list of 114 child offenders awaiting execution in Iran today, the first time such a list has been made available detailing the practice, which has been banned in all but a handful of countries.

The list is the result of comprehensive primary research by prominent Iranian human rights defender Emad Baghi. It forms part of his thus-far unpublished book “Right to Life II,” which demonstrates that such executions are not sanctioned by Islamic law as argued by Iranian authorities. The Iranian censors have not permitted the book to be published.

Baghi’s book is the product of his research into religious sources arguing for the abolition of executions for child offenders. He compiles reliable and official sources for such executions carried out over the past decade. The book was distributed in limited numbers to Iranian officials in the Judiciary and the Parliament as well as to human rights defenders and organizations inside Iran. The Campaign has obtained a copy of “Right to Life II,” which documents approximately 177 execution sentences for child offenders over the past decade. Accordingly, 34 executions have taken place to date, another 114 are apparently pending, and the remainder have been pardoned.

Due to the lack of transparency in Iran’s judicial system, it is possible that some of the 114 juvenile offenders on death row may already have been executed.

Iran leads the world in executing child offenders. In 2008, Iran has carried two such executions: Javad Shojai on 26 February  and Mohammad Hassanzadeh on 10 June.

“It is time for Iran to abolish the death penalty for child offenders. Even Judiciary officials within the system are against these executions, but do not dare to speak publicly,” Hadi Ghaemi, a spokesperson for the Campaign said.

The majority of child offenders on the list are accused of murder. However, as Baghi’s detailed research in his banned book shows, many sentences are based on confessions obtained from child defendants following torture and after interrogations in which they have had no access to a lawyer. Courts routinely ignore evidence presented by defendants demonstrating that they acted in self-defense.

According to Iran’s criminal code, boys may be subjected to penalties including execution at the age of 15 and girls at age of 9. Soghra Najafpour is a woman imprisoned in Rasht prison since 1990 when she was only 13 years old and accused of murder. Mosleh Zamani, another child offender, is sentenced to death for an “illicit relationship with his girlfriend.”  

In the city of Firoozabad, Fars province, the execution of Abu Moslem Sohrabi, 17 at the time of his crime, is imminent, according to his father. 

The Campaign called on Iran to immediately abolish the death penalty for child offenders. As a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran is obligated to abolish such executions.

“We are calling upon the international community to denounce child executions in Iran and around the world, and to take concrete steps to convince the Iranian authorities that such uncivilized practices have negative consequences for Iran’s international and economic relations,” Ghaemi said.    

[PhilDragoo]

Regarding the mullahs of Iran and their murder of children:

It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and
he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

[potlatch]

Perfect words for these monsters, Phil!

[arthurus]

Clinton and Bush are both demonstrations for why there should be no second terms. There should be no prohibition of second terms but sitting presidents should generally NOT be renominated. Reagan is the glaring exception, and perhaps Eisenhower.

[mkjessup]

Clinton and Bush are both demonstrations for why there should be no second terms. There should be no prohibition of second terms but sitting presidents should generally NOT be renominated. Reagan is the glaring exception, and perhaps Eisenhower.

You raise an excellent point. I agree with you that there should not be a prohibition of a second term for a President but the presumption (usually an arrogant one) that a sitting President is automatically entitled to, and will be annointed as the Party standard bearer is quite frankly un-American.

A sitting President that wishes to seek a second term should be compelled to make their case to their political party first, challengers should be encouraged, *not* discouraged, and if that sitting President is unable to convince the members of his party to renominate him, then the nomination process should be declared 'wide open', and whoever is able to emerge as the favorite, they should be nominated and the sitting President should be expected to campaign as hard for the Party's standard bearer as if it were themselves.

Personally, I'm hoping that I never see another Bush OR Clinton in the White House in my lifetime. I think America has had quite enough of *both* families.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ernest.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran published a list of 114 child offenders awaiting execution in Iran today, the first time such a list has been made available detailing the practice, which has been banned in all but a handful of countries. The list is the result of comprehensive primary research by prominent Iranian human rights defender Emad Baghi. It forms part of his thus-far unpublished book "Right to Life II," which demonstrates that such executions are not sanctioned by Islamic law as argued by Iranian authorities. The Iranian censors have not permitted the book to be published... The book was distributed in limited numbers to Iranian officials in the Judiciary and the Parliament as well as to human rights defenders and organizations inside Iran... The majority of child offenders on the list are accused of murder. However... many sentences are based on confessions obtained from child defendants following torture and after interrogations in which they have had no access to a lawyer. Courts routinely ignore evidence presented by defendants demonstrating that they acted in self-defense. According to Iran's criminal code, boys may be subjected to penalties including execution at the age of 15 and girls at age of 9.

Nice that he does this, and I'm sure that to have any chance of being taken seriously, he would have to put his arguments in an Islamic context, even were he not so inclined. But the fact is, this *is* normal Islamic practice. By way of analogy, I'm sure we all remember the dissembling and rationalization by commies that the USSR wasn't truly socialist or wasn't truly communist or wasn't truly Marxist...

[CGTRWK]

15 to 17 year old violent criminals aren’t children. If Iran holds them accountable for their actions, that’s a damn sight more civilized than our practice of keeping them until they turn 21 and then sending them out to kill again.

[arthurus]

A prohibition on second terms would make first terms into “second terms,” I think, and a Bush 1st would look like Bush 2nd now looks like.