Iran: Authorities execute young man in exceptionally cruel circumstances

Amnesty International is outraged by reports that the Iranian authorities have executed a young man convicted of murder who was only 15 years old at the time of the crime.

The organization learned that 22-year-old Ali Kazemi was hung earlier today in prison in Busher province. His execution was scheduled and carried out without any notice given to Ali Kazemi's lawyer as required by Iranian law.

"By carrying out this unlawful execution, Iran is effectively declaring that it wishes to maintain the country's shameful status as one of the world's leading executioners of those who were children at the time of their crime," said Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.

"This is nothing short of an all-out assault on children's rights, as enshrined in international law, which absolutely bans the use of the death penalty against someone who was under 18 years of age at the time of the crime."

"It is long overdue for the head of Iran's judiciary to intervene and establish an official moratorium on executions of juvenile offenders

Ali Kazemi was convicted of murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a man during a fight in March 2011. He was only 15 years old at the time the crime was committed.

Amnesty International understands that prison officials and prosecution authorities in Busher tormented Ali Kazemi's family by making contradictory statements as to whether and when the execution would be carried out.

On 29 January, his family was told Ali Kazemi's execution had been scheduled for the next day and that they should go to Busher prison in the evening for a last visit.

By carrying out this unlawful execution, Iran is effectively declaring that it wishes to maintain the country's shameful status as one of the world's leading executioners of those who were children at the time--Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.

However, that same evening the family was told Kazemi's execution had been halted. On the morning of 30 January, the authorities called to reassure the family that the execution had not taken place. However, at midday today, Ali Kazemi's family was suddenly told the execution had just been carried out.

Ali Kazemi's execution comes less than a month after Iran executed another man who was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, Amirhossein Pourjafar, on 4 January.

Between 2005 and 2018, Amnesty International recorded the execution of 87 people convicted by the courts in Iran for crimes that occurred when they were under the age of 18. This includes 4 in 2017 and 2 so far in 2018. Amnesty International has identified at least 80 individuals who are on death row in Iran for crimes that took place when they were under 18 years of age.

Background

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is unequivocal in its absolute prohibition on the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by people below 18 years of age.

It is also well-established in the principles of juvenile justice that individuals under 18 years of age should be treated as less mature and culpable, and should never face the same penalties as adults.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. Amnesty International has consistently called on all countries that still use the death penalty to establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the punishment.

Source: Amnesty International, January 31, 2018

Execution of a Juvenile Offender in Iran

Iran Human Rights (Jan 30, 2018): Ali Kazemi, a juvenile offender who committed a murder at age 15, was hanged on the morning of Tuesday at Bushehr Central Prison.

On Tuesday, January 30, The Imam Ali Society reported the execution of Ali Kazemi on his Twitter account. The juvenile offender, who was only 15 at the time of crime, was sentenced to death on murder charges.

The report mentions that there were some promises [from authorities] that execution of the juvenile would be halted, but the sentence was carried out ultimately.

The murder was reportedly committed seven years ago and Ali Kazemi was 22 at the time of the execution.

The execution of juveniles is strictly banned in the international laws, however, Ali Kazemi is the second juvenile offender who has been executed this month. On Thursday January 4, Amir Hossein Pourjafar, who had committed murder at age 16, was executed at Rajai Shahr Prison.

These sentences prove that the Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013), as well as other articles related to protection of children at risk of retaliation, cannot effectively protect juvenile-offenders from execution.

The execution of this Juvenile offender is a violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which Iran has ratified.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) strictly condemns the execution of Ali Kazemi and urges the international community to stop the execution of juveniles in Iran.

This execution has not been announced by the state-run media so far.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) has reported executions of five juvenile offenders in Iran in 2017.

Source: Iran Human Rights, January 31, 2018

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Comments

Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog