An unprecedented wave of executions in Iran – including of people under 18 – has been condemned by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI). At least 707 people were executed in the country last year, one third more than the previous year. In one 24-hour period in the final week of November, the authorities executed seven prisoners, who were tried before the Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges including ‘propaganda against the system’ and ‘corruption on Earth’.
Most defendants before the Revolutionary Courts lack legal representation during their proceedings, IBAHRI co-chair Anne Ramberg said. ‘The IBAHRI calls on the authorities to immediately release all arbitrarily arrested protestors and human rights defenders – including lawyers – to uphold the independence of the legal profession, to ensure the right to a fair trial of all accused and introduce an immediate moratorium on the death penalty with a view to abolition,’ she said.
Since 2010, at least 68 people below the age of 18 have been executed in Iran, the statement said. They include 17-year-old Hamidreza Azari executed in Sabzevar Prison on 24 November 2023 after making forced confession of a murder. IBAHRI co-chair Mark Stephens described the execution as ‘highly alarming’’
The IBAHRI statement noted that Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICPR) requires that the death penalty be reserved for ‘the most serious crimes’. Additionally, under Article 6(5), the ICCPR and Article 37(a) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, death sentences must not be imposed for crimes committed by people under 18 years old.
