Secret Execution of Two Teenagers in Shiraz; One Teen with Intellectual Disability
The Islamic Republic of Iran has secretly executed two teenagers at Shiraz Central Prison who were detained at age 15 and executed at age 17. One of the two teenagers had an intellectual disability.
Human rights organizations have reported the secret execution of two teenagers named Mehdi Sohrabifar and Amin Sedaqat at Shiraz Central Prison (Adel Abad). The Iran Human Rights Organization, while announcing this news with the publication of two documents related to the Welfare Organization of Fars Province and the Education Department of Shiraz, writes that one of the two teenagers, Mehdi Sohrabifar, had an intellectual disability and was studying at a special school.
According to human rights defenders’ reports, the execution order for the two teenagers was carried out in the morning of the 5th of Ordibehesht (April 25) at Shiraz Central Prison.
The report of this secret execution was first published by Amnesty International, which strongly criticized Iran in its statement for “complete disregard for civil rights and children’s rights.”
According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, the two executed teenagers were born in November and December 1380 (2001-2002) and were both arrested within a few days of each other in June 1396 (2017).
The two had a cousin relationship with each other and were accused of “rape during theft.” According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, one of the relatives of the two teenagers said that “the accusation was baseless and someone else committed the crime, and the two confessed to the crime under torture.”
The death sentence for the two teenagers was overturned once by the Supreme Court and confirmed the second time. This was despite the fact that, according to the Iran Human Rights Organization, forensic medicine did not confirm the intellectual development of the two child-offenders.
According to Amnesty International’s report, the two teenagers were unaware that they were to be executed “until shortly before the execution of the sentence.” Amnesty International also writes that marks of flogging were observed on the bodies of the two teenagers, indicating that the two were flogged before execution.
Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Section, said in this regard: “Iranian authorities have once again demonstrated their abhorrent willingness to kill children and violate international human rights laws. It appears that in the utmost cruelty, they kept these two teenage boys unaware of the death sentence issued for them for two years, flogged them in the final moments of their lives, and then secretly executed them.”
Amnesty International writes that the judicial process that led to the issuance of a death sentence for the two teenagers was unjust, they were deprived of having a lawyer during their interrogations, and after arrest were imprisoned for two months in a police detention facility where they were beaten and tortured.
Keeping Prisoners and Families Uninformed
According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, the two teenagers were transferred to Adel Abad Prison one day before their execution and had a visit with their family, and the family was told this was their last visit, but officials did not inform the prisoners’ lawyer and their families about the date of execution.
News of the execution of the two teenagers was only reported to the families one day after the execution, when they were told to come retrieve the bodies of their children.
Philip Luther regarding the secret execution of the two teenagers said: “It appears that Iranian authorities, by secretly executing juvenile convicts without prior notice to families, are deliberately trying to prevent international protests. Given the escalation of this practice, influential international actors, including the European Union, should increase diplomatic efforts and public statements to pressure Iran to end the use of capital punishment against juvenile convicts.”
Global human rights organizations have been criticizing Iran for years for carrying out capital punishment. According to Human Rights Watch’s report, Iran executed five teenagers in 2018. Iran is one of five countries in the world that executes teenagers.
According to Amnesty International’s 2019 report, Iran has the second-highest execution rate after China. Iran is also the leading country in executing teenagers. According to human rights organizations, 97 teenagers under 18 years old were executed in Iran from 1990 to 2018.
According to Philip Luther, “The application of capital punishment against individuals who were under 18 years of age at the time of committing the crime is absolutely prohibited under international human rights law and is a blatant violation of children’s rights.”
The Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Section added: “It is long overdue for members of the Iranian Parliament to put an end to this horrific situation by amending criminal laws.”
Source: DW
