Amnesty International Calls for Halt to Execution of Two Iranian Prisoners
Amnesty International has called for a halt to the execution of two Iranian prisoners. One of the two is scheduled to be executed tomorrow, Wednesday, and the other three weeks later. According to Amnesty International’s report, both were below the legal age of majority at the time of committing the crime.
Amnesty International on Tuesday (April 18) called for an immediate halt to the imminent executions of two prisoners in Iran who, according to the human rights organization, were minors at the time of their arrest.
According to Amnesty International’s report, Mehdi Bahloli is one of the two prisoners scheduled to be executed at dawn tomorrow, Wednesday (April 19), after spending more than 15 years in prison at Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj.
According to the same report, Mehdi Bahloli was sentenced to death in the fall of 2001 in Tehran, and was 17 years old at the time of committing the crime.
Relatives of Mehdi Bahloli told Amnesty International that they were informed in a call from the prison that this prisoner was transferred to solitary confinement last Sunday.
The execution order for the second prisoner, Peyman Bornadi, is also scheduled to be carried out three weeks later, on the 20th of Ordibehesht in the current year at the Central Prison of Shiraz.
Peyman Bornadi was arrested in the summer of 2012 at age 16 and has spent approximately five years in prison under a death sentence.
Both prisoners on the verge of execution have been sentenced to death for murder by knife during a conflict.
“Cementing Iran’s Position as a Leader in Executions”
Philip Luther, head of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa section, stated: “The execution of these two young people is a shocking violation of international law and cements Iran’s position as one of the world’s leading executioners of juveniles.”
Iran is among the countries with the highest rates of executing capital punishment. This punishment includes those who were below the legal age of majority at the time of committing the crime.
In the Islamic Republic, to justify the execution of juvenile defendants, the execution of sentences is postponed until the convicted person reaches the age of 18.
Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of violating international treaties prohibiting the execution of children and juveniles.
Iran is among the signatories to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and Juveniles. This treaty prohibits the execution of individuals who had not reached the legal age of 18 at the time of committing the crime.
Source: DW
