Risk of Execution for a Child Defendant; Sasan Shadman Charged with 'Murder' at Age 16

Amid a rising wave of executions in Iran, human rights sources reported that a child defendant named Sasan Shadman, who was arrested at the age of 16 on murder charges in Yasuj, is at risk of execution. According to a report on Tuesday, March 5, by the Human Rights Activists in Iran, Sasan Shadman, who is currently 18 years old and imprisoned in Yasuj, is in danger of execution, and his family is trying to prevent his execution by securing the blood money. The execution of sentences under the title of 'Qisas-e Nafs' (retribution in kind) in the Islamic Republic of Iran occurs under conditions where, according to government laws, intentional murder is not classified, and 'any type of murder, regardless of the severity and motivation of the defendant, leads to the issuance of a death sentence.' This human rights organization also reported the execution of a prisoner named Omid Naeiji in connection with a murder that occurred during a conflict, which was carried out on September 27, 2024, in Amol prison. Iranian judicial authorities typically keep executions of citizens secret and provide little reporting or statistics on them. However, according to documentation gathered by independent human rights organizations, the number of executions in Iran indicates that the government ranks first globally in violating the right to life. Executions by the government in Iran, which human rights activists emphasize are aimed at instilling fear in society, also include groups such as child defendants and individuals with mental disabilities. Furthermore, it has been reported that at least five prisoners with mental disorders were executed in 2024. The issuance and execution of death sentences by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic continue despite increasing protests against the death penalty and the activities of the 'No to Execution' campaign both inside and outside the country. Members of the 'Tuesdays Against Execution' campaign, which is active in 38 prisons in Iran, demanded 'more serious and urgent actions from the awakened consciences of the world to stop the killing machine' in Iran during their fifty-eighth week of collective hunger strikes, announcing that the Iranian judicial authorities executed '85 individuals' in the first two weeks of March. The Iran Human Rights Organization recently criticized public executions as a tool of the Islamic Republic to 'create fear among the people,' stating that at least four public executions have been carried out in Iran in 2024.