Execution of a child criminal in Rasht prison; Amnesty International: They deceived him and executed him suddenly

Mohammad Hassan Rezaei, a child criminal who was 16 years old at the time of the alleged crime, was executed at dawn on Thursday, January 1, after serving at least 14 years in Rasht Central Prison (Lakan).

Raha Bahreini, Iran researcher at Amnesty International, confirmed the news on her Twitter page, writing: "Two weeks ago, the execution of Mohammad Hassan Rezaei was stopped due to international and diplomatic pressure. But they deceived him and today, they executed him suddenly, on the last day of the year."

Ms. Bahraini continued this tweet by writing: "They are afraid of the formation of large international campaigns. They want painless killing."

Global condemnation of the Islamic Republic's actions

On Thursday, January 1, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office, issued a statement reacting to the execution of Mohammad Hassan Rezaei, calling it a violation of international law .

The United Nations says this is the fourth execution of a person who committed a crime as a child in 2020 .

The statement emphasizes that the execution of child criminals is strictly prohibited under international law and that Iran is committed to complying with this prohibition.

The statement said that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet strongly condemns the execution of Mohammad Hassan Rezaei, noting that between December 19 and December 26, at least eight people were executed across the country and in various prisons in Iran, and unconfirmed reports indicate that at least eight others are at risk of early execution.

The European Union also issued a statement on Thursday, January 1, opposing the death penalty under any circumstances and strongly condemning the execution of Mohammad Hassan Rezaei. The Union reiterated that the death penalty for crimes committed by persons under the age of 18 is contrary to Iran's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The union also called on the Iranian authorities to refrain from carrying out any executions in the future and to adopt a consistent policy of abolishing the death penalty, noting that the death penalty cannot act as a deterrent against crime.

Amnesty International has previously called for the death sentence of Mohammad Hassan Rezaei to be overturned in several statements. On Wednesday, January 10, the human rights organization once again called on the authorities of the Islamic Republic to immediately halt the execution of Mohammad Hassan Rezaei, overturn his conviction and sentence, and pave the way for a new fair trial. According to the organization, the retrial should be conducted in full compliance with the laws governing juvenile criminal justice and without the use of the death penalty.

According to Amnesty International, Iranian authorities intended to execute this young Iranian two weeks ago, but the execution plan was halted three days after he was transferred to solitary confinement following international protests, and Mr. Rezaei was then returned to a general ward.

Mohammad Hassan Rezaei was arrested in 2007, when he was 16 years old, during a gang fight in connection with the stabbing death of a man. Despite his young age, authorities held him in solitary confinement for long periods without access to his family or a lawyer, Amnesty International reported. They repeatedly tortured him to extract “confessions” against himself. Amnesty International cited beatings with sticks, punches and kicks, and whippings with hoses as examples of this torture.

According to Amnesty International, in 2008, the lower court sentenced the child criminal to death for murder, relying on his forced "confessions."

This is not the first time the Islamic Republic has sentenced someone who was arrested as a child to death. In early May of this year, Voice of America reported that Shayan Saeedpour had been executed in Saqqez Central Prison. He was found guilty of murder committed before he was 18 years old.

Amnesty International, noting that at least 90 child criminals in Iran are at risk of execution, says that the human rights organization has repeatedly called on Iranian authorities to completely abolish the death penalty for crimes committed by persons under the age of 18 by amending Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code approved in 2013.

Iran is one of the last countries in the world that, in violation of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, continues to apply the death penalty for crimes committed by persons under the age of 18.

The US State Department has repeatedly and on various occasions condemned the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime in that country.

Source: Voice of America