Iran's Judiciary Executes Another 'Child Offender'

Iran Human Rights Organization has reported the execution of another defendant in Iran who committed a crime as a child, named Abolfazl Chazani Sharahi. This organization published the news citing Raha Bahreini, a researcher at Amnesty International, stating that he was executed on the morning of July 6 in Qom Central Prison. Chazani Sharahi was sentenced to death for premeditated murder during a street fight in 2013 when he was 15 years old. While the international community has repeatedly urged the Iranian government not to issue death sentences for individuals who committed crimes under the age of 18, this marks the fourth 'child offender' executed in Iran in the past six months. According to the report, at least five defendants with similar circumstances were executed in Iranian prisons in 2017. The Iran Human Rights Organization estimates that currently, over one hundred 'child offenders' are awaiting execution in Iranian prisons. Previously, Amnesty International had issued a statement urging the Iranian authorities to 'immediately' halt the execution of Abolfazl Chazani Sharahi. According to Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director for North Africa and the Middle East at Amnesty International, '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 law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child.' The organization noted that Iran's official calendar is the solar calendar, but some provisions of the Islamic Penal Code refer to the lunar calendar. In this context, the Qom Criminal Court stated that Abolfazl Chazani Sharahi was considered 'mature' according to the lunar calendar and deserving of the death penalty. Article 147 of the Islamic Penal Code sets the age of criminal responsibility at nine years for girls and fifteen years for boys according to the lunar calendar. The court also relied on forensic evidence stating that he had 'intellectual maturity.' The ruling of the Qom Criminal Court was confirmed by the Supreme Court in December 2014. Iran is one of the few countries that still issues and executes death sentences for crimes committed during childhood. This is despite Article 91 of the new Islamic Penal Code, enacted in 2013, which gives judges the discretion not to impose the death penalty on children who do not understand the nature or gravity of their crime. 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 their crime. Human Rights Watch also called on Iran's judiciary in August 2017 to provide for a retrial for all offenders under 18, respecting human rights standards and international norms. In this context, the UN called for an 'immediate halt' to the execution of juvenile offenders.