Ninth day of the strike; a report on the situation of a child criminal sentenced to death
Mohammad Salehi, a child criminal sentenced to death in Mahabad Prison, has been on a hunger strike for the past nine days in protest against the prison authorities' obstruction of the process of commuting his sentence. The prisoner, who is being held in solitary confinement in Mahabad Prison, has been beaten by officers for not ending his hunger strike.
According to HRANA News Agency, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, Mohammad Salehi, son of Khader (Khidr), from Sardasht County, is a child accused of murder. He was accused of murder at the age of 17 and then sentenced to death.
Despite this prisoner's agreement with his parents and the provision of the blood money, his sentence has been notified to the prison's sentence enforcement department.
Dam's parents agreed to pay a sum of money for Mr. Salehi's case, but for unknown reasons, the court judges did not consider the case of this criminal child and did not order a change in sentence.
This prisoner has been on a hunger strike for the past 9 days due to the lack of consideration of his legal process and has since been transferred to solitary confinement in Mahabad Prison.
A source familiar with the child accused of murder told HRANA's reporter: "This prisoner has been held in prison for nearly 18 months and is now about 19 years old. He is accused of murder and has been on strike in solitary confinement for 9 days now."
He further added, "He was beaten in solitary confinement by prison officers for refusing to end his hunger strike."
It is important to note that Iranian law sets the age of criminal punishment for children at 15 years for boys and 9 years for girls, while international conventions prohibit the execution of persons under the age of 18.
Punishment of children in Iran, including issuing death sentences to them in various cases, including conflicts and murder, drug trafficking, etc., has always been one of the major challenges of human rights violations in Iran.
This Iranian action contradicts the country's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Source: HRANA
