Amnesty International: Iranian authorities must halt the execution of Abolfazl Chazani Sharahi

Amnesty International issued a statement urging the Iranian authorities to "immediately halt the execution of Abolfazl Chazani Sharahi, an Iranian teenager who was sentenced to death for inflicting lethal knife wounds on a man during a fight at the age of 14." According to the organization, Abolfazl Chazani Sharahi, who is currently 19 years old, is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, January 17, in Qom prison. Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director for North Africa and the Middle East at Amnesty International, stated: "Iranian officials are well aware that the use of the death penalty against those who commit crimes under the age of 18 is a gross violation of Iran's obligations under international human rights laws, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child." The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on the Rights of the Child, which Iran is a signatory to, as well as UN standards regarding juveniles, prohibit the execution of individuals who were under 18 at the time of committing a crime. However, Iran has repeatedly carried out executions of defendants who committed crimes while under 18. The Deputy Director for North Africa and the Middle East at Amnesty International added: "Instead of displaying such a ruthless disregard for children's rights, Iranian authorities must immediately halt the execution of Abolfazl Chazani Sharahi and convert his death sentence to imprisonment." According to Amnesty International, Abolfazl Chazani Sharahi was sentenced to death by the Qom Criminal Court in September 2014. Since then, at least three attempts have been made to carry out his execution. Last year, he was transferred to solitary confinement for the execution, but it was halted at the last moment for reasons unknown to Amnesty International. Amnesty International noted that Abolfazl Chazani Sharahi was born on January 16, 1999. Therefore, his age at the time of the crime on December 26, 2013, according to the solar calendar, was 14 years and 11 months, and according to the lunar calendar, it was 15 years and five months. The organization stated that Iran's official calendar is the solar calendar, but some provisions of Iran's Islamic Penal Code refer to the lunar calendar. In this context, the Qom Criminal Court referred to Article 147 of the Islamic Penal Code, stating that Abolfazl Chazani Sharahi was "mature" according to the lunar date and deserving of the death penalty. Article 147 of the Islamic Penal Code sets the age of criminal responsibility for girls and boys at nine and 15 lunar years, respectively. The court also relied on forensic opinions stating that he had "intellectual maturity." The ruling of the Qom Criminal Court was confirmed by the Supreme Court in December 2014. Human rights organizations oppose the implementation of the death penalty in Iran, especially the execution of individuals under 18. For instance, Human Rights Watch, in a statement last year, urged the Iranian judiciary to prepare for retrials for all offenders under 18, in compliance with human rights standards and international norms. In this context, there have been requests to prevent the execution of Hadadi in a letter from a lawyer to the head of the judiciary, protests by Amnesty International against the execution of a man in Iran for "committing a crime in adolescence," and calls from Amnesty International to halt the "imminent" execution of two individuals in Iran. Concerns have also been raised by Amnesty International regarding the potential imminent execution of Hamid Ahmadi. Criticism from Human Rights Watch regarding the execution of offenders under 18 in Iran continues, with Amnesty International stating that another execution of a teenager in Iran disregards global covenants. The execution of Mohammad Reza Hadadi was postponed, and protests against the execution of teenagers in Iran have been ongoing. Amnesty International has called for the cessation of the death sentence for Alireza Tajiki.