Thursday, January 22, 2009

A possible minor offender among yesterday executions

Iran Human Rights, January 22: One of the 10 men executed in Tehran’s Evin prison yesterday, was a 21 years old man who was convicted of a murder 4 years ago, according to the government newspaper Iran.
According to the report, Molla Gol Hassan (21 years old, an Afghan citizen) was convicted of murdering Fakhreddin in December 2004, making Hassan 17 years old at that time.
If Hassan’s age and date of alleged offence is correctly stated by Iran newspaper, he was a minor at the time of committing the alleged offence, and he would be the first minor offender to be executed in 2009.
Iran Human Rights is investigating the facts about Molla Gol Hassan’s age at the time of the offence.
Iran has ratified UN’s convention of children’s right which bans death penalty for the offences committed at under 18 years of age.
However, at least 7 minor offenders were executed in Iran in 2008
Iran Press News