The Execution of the Killer of Three-Year-Old Ahura in Rasht

The head of the judiciary in Gilan province announced the execution of the killer of "Ahura", a three-year-old child who was murdered after being raped by her mother's husband. According to Ahmad Siavashpour, the criminal was executed on the morning of Tuesday (April 21) in Rasht prison. This sentence, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Iran after its issuance, was carried out with the consent of the victim's family. On October 22, 2017, a three-year-old child named Ahura was killed after being raped by her stepfather. As reported by ISNA news agency, Ahura's stepfather physically abused her and slammed her head against the wall, resulting in her death. The forensic medicine determined the cause of death as complications from "cerebral hemorrhage". The 27-year-old initially denied committing the crime but eventually confessed to child abuse and murder. The murder of this child once again brought the issue of child abuse to the forefront of media coverage in Iran. The Gilan prosecutor announced shortly after the murder that Ahura not only died from physical abuse and a brain injury, but also had burn marks from cigarettes on her body. This news was released while in October, the killer of seven-year-old Atena Aslani was hanged, and on October 27, the execution of the killer of six-year-old Setayesh Gharehsi was also carried out. Atena Aslani was murdered on June 18, and her body was found 20 days later in the killer's shop parking lot. The accused in Atena Aslani's murder was executed on Wednesday, September 20, on charges of "murder" and "sexual assault". The sexual abuse and murder of Atena Aslani, who was from Parsabad Moghan in Ardabil province, received significant media attention in Iran. While some government officials and child support organizations claim there are no accurate statistics on child abuse in Iran, Ahmad Khaki, the deputy for social affairs in Tehran's welfare organization, stated that the most common reason for contacting social emergency services in 2016 was "child abuse". According to the head of Iran's social emergency services and based on reports submitted to this organization last year, 60% of child abuse cases were committed by fathers, and a total of 86% were perpetrated by parents. Hossein Asadbigi stated that 1,642 cases, or 60% of reported child abuse incidents to "crisis intervention centers", were committed by fathers, while only 1.5% were perpetrated by strangers. While government officials and some members of parliament are attempting to introduce legislation to "prevent sexual abuse of children", the topic of educating children to prevent sexual abuse has faced criticism from some extremist religious groups in Iran. For instance, while some government officials and parliament members argue that part of the education in UNESCO's 2030 Agenda is "aimed at preventing assault and protecting individuals' privacy", the implementation of this agenda was halted following protests from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and his close associates. A member of the women's faction in the Islamic Consultative Assembly also pointed out the legal gaps in this area, stating that "with current laws, it is not possible to address the perpetrators of child abuse". According to Masoumeh Aqapour Alishahi, in some cases, "legal gaps" have caused delays in addressing child abuse crimes and the execution of sentences against child abusers. She also added, without providing statistics, that child abuse in Iran is on the rise.