Source: UN News
Center
The United Nations human rights chief today
(October 13) called for changes to Iranian laws to end the death penalty for
juvenile offenders, and also voiced serious concern about the death sentences
handed down to three people for their involvement in the recent post-election
protests.
Behnoud Shojaie, who was executed on Sunday, had
been convicted of the murder of another boy in a street fight when both were 17
years old, according to a
news release issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR).
|
Behnoud Shojaie |
Both High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi
Pillay and UN special rapporteurs had raised his case with the Iranian
authorities, reminding them of their international obligation not to execute
juveniles.
Iran is a party to the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
both of which prohibit the death penalty for juvenile offenders.
Ms. Pillay had welcomed indications that the
Iranian judiciary was encouraging victims' families to reach private settlements
in such cases. The former head of the judiciary had previously agreed to suspend
Shojaie's death sentence, in order to give the victim's family a chance to
pardon him under Islamic Shariah law.
"This latest execution shows there are no
guarantees of clemency for juveniles until Iran changes its law and practice to
end execution of juvenile offenders once and for all," Ms. Pillay said. "It is
the State's responsibility to stop these executions, not a family's
prerogative."
The Iranian legislature is currently considering
a new draft juvenile justice law that provides "a valuable opportunity to end
the execution of juvenile offenders," said OHCHR.
The High Commissioner also voiced serious
concerns about the death sentences recently handed down to three individuals
involved in the protests that took place after the country's presidential
election.
"Under international law, the death penalty can
only be applied when very strict conditions are met, for example only in respect
of the most serious crimes and only after scrupulously fair trials," she noted.
The UN human rights mechanisms have held the view
that the imposition of the death penalty for crimes that do not result in loss
of life is contrary to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
"There are also major concerns about the way the
recent trials of opposition activists were conducted, and I hope these judgments
will be reviewed carefully by the higher courts," Ms. Pillay said.
... Payvand News - 10/14/09 ... --
