17-year-old Alireza Mollasoltani was publicly hanged in Karaj (west of Tehran) early this morning.
Alireza Mollasoltani was convicted of stabbing Ruhollah Dadashi, the Iranian champion of weightlifting.
The state-run Fars news agency reported that, before he was hanged from a crane, Alireza was crying loudly and asking for forgiveness while calling for his mother and some religious figures.
Several human rights organizations and the Norwegian government had called the scheduled execution "unlawful" and urged the Iranian authorities to stop the execution and respect the UN conventions that the Iranian government has ratified.
Iran has ratified the UN convention on the Rights of the Child, which bans the death penalty for offences committed by persons under the age of 18.
Alireza Mollasoltani was born in December 1993. He was still a minor at the time of the execution. After the execution, Ali Rezwanmanesh, the representative of the Judiciary present at the scene of execution, told news reporters that "Alireza was not a minor, according to Sharia, since in the Sharia the lunar calender in used and the years are shorter."
Iran Human Rights strongly condemns today’s execution of 17-year-old Alireza.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights said in a comment: "Alireza’s execution is unlawful, according to international laws and the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the head of the Judiciary Sadeq Larijani should be held responsible for today’s execution and other unlawful executions that take place in Iran". He added: "The international community should not tolerate the execution of children in 2011."
Source: Iran Human Rights, Sept. 20, 2011
UN calls for death penalty end over teenager’s execution in Iran
A group of independent United Nations human rights experts have condemned the execution of a teenager carried out yesterday by Iranian authorities, and called once again for an immediate halt to the country’s use of the death penalty.
Alireza Molla-Soltani, 17, was publicly executed by hanging on Wednesday. He was reportedly sentenced to death last month for stabbing a popular athlete to death in mid-July, which he said was done in self-defense.
“We are outraged at the execution practice in Iran despite the international community’s and our repeated calls for a moratorium,” the experts – on human rights in Iran, on summary executions, on the independence of the judiciary, and on torture – said in a news release.
“Any judgment imposing the death penalty upon juveniles below the age of 18, and their execution, are incompatible with Iran’s international obligations,” they stressed.
This year alone, more than 200 people have been executed in Iran, the majority of whom were charged with drug-related offences, the news release noted. A man convicted of drug trafficking was also hanged in Iran on Wednesday, according to media reports.
The experts said that it is widely accepted that the death penalty is an extreme punishment, and that it may only be imposed for the most serious crimes.
“We, however, regret that execution is common practice for people charged with drug-related offences, which do not amount to the most serious crimes.”
The experts – Christof Heyns, Ahmed Shaheed, Gabriela Knaul and Juan Méndez – called on the Iranian Government to immediately implement a moratorium on the death penalty, particularly in drug-related and juvenile cases.
UN human rights experts work in an independent and unpaid capacity, and report to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.
Source: Bikya Masr, Sept. 22, 2011
Joint statement condemning Iran’s recent execution of a juvenile
“Stop Executions,” 4 UN Human Rights Experts Tell Iran On 22 September 2011 4 United Nations Special Rapporteurs for executions, torture, human rights in Iran, and independence of the judiciary, issued a joint statement condemning Iran’s recent execution of a juvenile and called for the country to immediately institute a moratorium on the death penalty.
Yesterday, 21 September, Iranian authorities hanged 17-year-old offender Alireza Molla-Soltani in public. Under the International Covenant on Civil Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child it is illegal to execute someone for crimes committed under the age of eighteen. Iran is party to both treaties. Nonetheless Iran remains one of a handful of countries still putting juveniles to death. This year Iran executed at least 3 juveniles, including Soltani.
The International Campaign for Iran has repeatedly expressed concern about Iran’s skyrocketing executions, the vast majority of which do not meet international standards. Iran puts to death more people per-capita than any other country in the world and is only second to China in total numbers of executions. In the first 3 weeks of September alone Iran has executed 51 people.
Source: Iran Human Rights, Sept. 22, 2011
Photos of the execution - MEHR
