Secret execution of two teenagers in Shiraz; one teenager with mental disabilities

The Islamic Republic of Iran secretly executed two teenagers who were arrested at the age of 15 in Shiraz Central Prison at the age of 17. One of the two teenagers was mentally disabled.

Human rights organizations have reported the secret execution of two teenagers, Mehdi Sohrabifar and Amin Sedaghat, in Shiraz Central Prison (Adelabad). The Iranian Human Rights Organization, while announcing this news by publishing two documents related to the Fars Provincial Welfare Organization and the Shiraz Education Department, writes that one of the two teenagers, Mehdi Sohrabifar, had a mental disability and was studying in an exceptional school.

According to human rights organizations, the death sentences of two teenagers were carried out on the morning of May 25 (April 25) in Shiraz Central Prison.

The report of this secret execution was first published by Amnesty International, which in its statement strongly criticized Iran for its “complete disregard for civil rights and children’s rights.”

According to the Iranian Human Rights Organization, the two executed teenagers were born in November and December 2001, and both were arrested in June 2017, a few days apart.

The two were cousins ​​and were accused of “rape during robbery.” According to the Iranian Human Rights Organization, a relative of the two teenagers said that “the accusation was not true and that someone else had committed this crime, and that two people confessed to this crime under torture.”

The death sentences of these two teenagers were overturned once by the Supreme Court and confirmed a second time. This was despite the fact that, according to the Iranian Human Rights Organization, the forensic medicine had not confirmed the mental development of the two child criminals.

According to Amnesty International, the two teenagers were unaware that they were to be executed “until shortly before the execution.” Amnesty International also wrote that whip marks were found on the bodies of the two teenagers, indicating that they had been whipped before the execution.

“The Iranian authorities have once again demonstrated their appalling willingness to kill children and violate international human rights law,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director. “They appear to have ruthlessly kept these two teenage boys unaware of their death sentences for two years, flogged them in their final moments, and then executed them in secret.”

Amnesty International writes that the judicial process that led to the death sentences for the two teenagers was unfair, that they were deprived of access to a lawyer during their interrogations, and that after their arrest they were held in a police detention center for two months, where they were beaten.

Keeping the prisoner and his family in the dark

According to the Iranian Human Rights Organization, two teenagers were transferred to Adelabad Prison one day before their execution and met with their families. Their families were told that this would be their last visit, but the authorities did not inform the prisoners' lawyers and their families about the date of the execution.

The families of the two teenagers were informed of the execution only one day after the execution, when they were told to come and collect their children's bodies.

Philip Luther said of the secret execution of two teenagers: "It appears that the Iranian authorities are deliberately trying to prevent international protests by executing juvenile convicts in secret and without prior notification to their families. Given the progress of this practice, influential international forces, including the European Union, should increase diplomatic efforts and public statements to pressure Iran to end the use of the death penalty against juvenile convicts."

Global human rights organizations have criticized Iran for its use of the death penalty for years. According to Human Rights Watch, Iran executed five juveniles in 2018. Iran is one of only five countries in the world that executes juveniles.

According to Amnesty International's 2019 report, Iran has the second-highest number of executions after China. Iran also has a record for executing juveniles. According to human rights organizations, 97 juveniles under the age of 18 were executed in Iran between 1990 and 2018.

According to Philip Luther, "The use of the death penalty against persons who were under 18 years of age at the time of the crime is absolutely prohibited under international human rights law and is a clear violation of children's rights."

“It is long past time for Iranian lawmakers to put an end to this appalling situation by changing the criminal code,” added Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa director.

Source: DW