Protests Against Executions of Minors in Iran

Abdolkarim Lahiji and Shirin Ebadi, in separate letters to UN human rights experts, have called for a halt to the ongoing executions of minors in Iran, referencing the case of Alireza Tajiki. Mr. Lahiji, president of the International Federation for Human Rights, and Ms. Ebadi, a lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, protested the imminent execution of Alireza Tajiki, a young man from Shiraz, and demanded its cessation. Alireza Tajiki was arrested in 2012 at the age of 15 on charges of rape (sodomy by force) and murder, and was scheduled to be executed on Sunday, May 15, in Adelabad prison in Shiraz, although the execution was temporarily halted. Abdolkarim Lahiji stated that Alireza Tajiki confessed under torture during initial interrogations without having a lawyer present, and later retracted this confession. Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is representing Alireza Tajiki, recently wrote on her Facebook page that there are many dark points in this case that cast doubt on the death sentence. In his letter, Mr. Lahiji pointed out the high statistics of juvenile executions in Iran on one hand, and Iran's membership in the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the other, urging the UN to ask the Iranian government to stop executing minors. Shirin Ebadi also called on UNICEF management to work towards halting the issuance and execution of death sentences for children under 18 years old.