Amnesty International Calls for Annulment of Berzan Nasrallahzadeh’s Death Sentence
Amnesty International issued an appeal calling for the annulment of the death sentence of Berzan Nasrallahzadeh, a prisoner sentenced to death in Iran. Mr. Nasrallahzadeh was 17 years old at the time of his arrest.
Amnesty International on Monday, October 12, released this appeal urging people and human rights activists around the world to respond to the death sentence of this young Iranian by writing letters to Iranian authorities, using their own words and language, inspired by this appeal, and to demand the halt of Berzan Nasrallahzadeh’s execution.
According to the human rights organization, Berzan Nasrallahzadeh is a Sunni Kurdish Iranian who was arrested on May 29, 2019, by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in Sanandaj. He was held for several months without access to his family in one of the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention centers and was interrogated without the benefit of a lawyer.
According to Amnesty International, Berzan Nasrallahzadeh, who was 17 years old at the time of his arrest, was subjected to various forms of torture during interrogation, including electric shocks and other ill-treatment, and was forced to make self-incriminating statements. He was also forced to confess against himself on camera.
Based on available information, Mr. Nasrallahzadeh’s trial was highly unjust. In this trial, footage of his confessions on camera was used as acceptable evidence in court, and Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court convicted him of charges such as “moharebeh” (enmity against God). His death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in August 2015.
According to Amnesty International’s report, information obtained indicates that in September of this year, the “Enforcement of Sentences Center has been processing Berzan Nasrallahzadeh’s case; a matter that raises concerns that his execution may have been scheduled for a date in the near future.”
Amnesty International emphasized: “Iran, as a member state of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is obligated not to use capital punishment against individuals who were under 18 years old at the time of committing the crime.” The organization stated that despite this, the Islamic Republic regime “has not adhered to this commitment and continues to execute individuals who were under 18 years old at the time of committing their crimes.”
Also according to the human rights organization, at least 251 death sentences were carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2019, and Amnesty International was able to document the death sentences of four prisoners named Amin Sedaqat, Mehdi Sohrabi-far, Amir Ali Shadabi, and Toraj Aziz (Azizzadeh) Qasemi, who were under 18 years old at the time of committing their crimes and whose death sentences were carried out.
Amnesty International had previously stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran has executed juvenile offenders more than any other country in the world. In a report in April 2019, the organization stated that Iran has alone been responsible for 97 executions of children under 18 years old since 1990, equivalent to two-thirds of all such executions worldwide.
Amnesty International has documented the cases of 90 individuals who were under 18 years old at the time their crimes were committed and are currently on death row in Iran. Although the actual number is higher.
The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned the persistent and continuous violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the regime governing that country.
Source: Voice of America
