Amnesty International's Concern Over Imminent Execution of Zeinab Sekanvand

On Monday, October 1, Amnesty International issued a statement saying that Zeinab Sekanvand, who allegedly committed a crime at the age of 17, is likely to be executed on Tuesday. Philip Luther, a director at Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa section, stated that Iranian authorities must immediately halt the execution of Zeinab Sekanvand. He added that Sekanvand was arrested for the murder of her husband when she was just 17 years old, having been only 15 at the time of her marriage. Not only was she a minor at the time of the crime, but she also did not receive a fair trial during her interrogation and prosecution. The UN has called for an 'immediate halt' to the execution of juvenile offenders. Luther mentioned that Sekanvand was tried in 2014 without a defense lawyer, and her case is based on confessions obtained without legal representation. He further stated that Sekanvand was tortured by interrogators during her detention. Previously, Amnesty International reported that Sekanvand claimed she had been subjected to months of physical and verbal abuse by her husband prior to his murder, and he refused to agree to a divorce. Amnesty International noted that Sekanvand confessed to killing her husband at the police station and was then beaten by law enforcement officers for 20 days. The Islamic Republic of Iran has set the age of criminal responsibility at 15 for boys and 9 for girls, while international conventions, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, set the age of criminal responsibility at 18 for both genders. Iran has conditionally accepted this convention. Iran is among the few countries where the death penalty is still issued for juvenile offenders and carried out after they turn 18. International laws explicitly urge countries worldwide to refrain from issuing death sentences for individuals under 18. Amnesty International states that from 2005 to the end of 2017, at least 87 people in Iran were executed for crimes committed under the age of 18.