Zainab Sekanvand, who 'committed a crime' as a teenager, was executed

One day after a warning from Amnesty International about the imminent execution of Zainab Sekanvand, who 'committed a crime' as a teenager, it was reported on Tuesday, October 2, that Ms. Sekanvand was executed in Urmia. Philip Luther, a director at Amnesty International for the Middle East and North Africa, stated on Monday that 'Iranian authorities must immediately halt the execution of Zainab Sekanvand.' However, Zainab Sekanvand was executed on Tuesday morning in a prison in Urmia. Meanwhile, Amnesty International's statement on Monday noted that 'Ms. Sekanvand was tried in 2014 without a defense lawyer, and her case was based on her confessions, which were obtained without the presence of a defense lawyer.' Zainab Sekanvand married at the age of 15 and was arrested at 17 'on charges of murdering her husband.' Amnesty International had previously stated that Ms. Sekanvand claimed she had been subjected to physical and verbal abuse by her husband for months before the murder, and that her husband did not agree to a divorce. Amnesty International reported that Ms. Sekanvand confessed to killing her husband at the police station and was then beaten for 20 days by law enforcement officers. The Islamic Republic of Iran sets the age of criminal responsibility at 15 for boys and 9 for girls, while international conventions such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child set the age of criminal responsibility at 18 for both genders. The Islamic Republic of Iran has 'conditionally' accepted this convention. Iran is among the few countries where the death penalty is still issued for juvenile offenders and carried out after they turn 18. International laws explicitly urge countries around the world to refrain from issuing death sentences for individuals under 18. Human rights organizations have repeatedly urged Iranian authorities to halt the execution of offenders below the legal age.