Execution of a 'Child Offender' in Shiraz and Two Prisoners in Lahijan

The Iran Human Rights Organization reported the execution of two prisoners in Lahijan by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic. This human rights organization also states that it has obtained new information indicating that one of the executed prisoners in Shiraz in recent days was 16 years old at the time of the alleged crime. According to the report by the Iran Human Rights Organization on Wednesday, October 4, judicial officials executed two prisoners named Ali Afrouz and Amir Hossein Boroumand in Lahijan on Tuesday, who had previously been sentenced to death for 'premeditated murder'. According to this report, Amir Hossein Boroumand, 34 years old and from Langroud in Gilan province, was arrested following a murder during a collective brawl four years ago and was sentenced to death while 'denying the commission of murder' and 'repeatedly stating that he did not commit murder and only mediated in this brawl', but he was sentenced to death based on the 'testimony' of others. The human rights organization also identified the other executed prisoner, Ali Afrouz, as 31 years old and from Sari in Mazandaran province, who was arrested in May 2021 'on the charge of murdering a relative'. The Iran Human Rights Organization also reported that on Monday, judicial officials executed three prisoners in Adelabad prison in Shiraz, including one prisoner who was 16 years old at the time of the crime. The Islamic Republic is one of the few governments that issues and carries out the death penalty for individuals who commit crimes under the age of 18. In this organization's report, the identity of the executed minor is stated as 'Mahdi Jahampour Tireh Shabankareh, born December 8, 2002', who was arrested 'in April 2019, when he was 16 years and three months old, on the charge of premeditated murder'. This is the first report of the execution of a 'child offender' confirmed by a human rights organization this year. According to Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam, spokesperson for the Iran Human Rights Organization, the issuance and execution of death sentences for child offenders is a serious violation of the Islamic Republic's international obligations, including the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and should be strongly condemned by the international community. He also reminded that 'currently, dozens of people in Iran are on death row for crimes committed under the age of 18, and the lack of a global response could lead to more executions of children.' According to the statistics of the Iran Human Rights Organization, at least 71 'child offenders' have been executed in Iran since 2010. In previous days, Maya Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, noted that at least 93 people were executed in Iran just last month, stating that only a portion of these executions were officially reported by the Islamic Republic. According to Maya Sato and several other UN experts, the number of executions by the Islamic Republic in August was more than double the 45 executions carried out in July, and so far this year, at least 400 Iranian citizens, including 15 women, have been executed by the Iranian government. Additionally, Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, described the execution statistics in Iran and the judicial processes leading to such sentences as 'concerning'. He criticized the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, stating that this institution 'is in no way independent or encompassing of fair trials.' Amnesty International has reported that the Islamic Republic was responsible for 74% of registered executions worldwide last year.