Speaking with the state-run Tasnim news agency, General Director of Tehran’s Department of Justice announced the execution of 18-year old Amorhossein Pourjagfar on January 4, 2018.
Amirhossein Pourjafar was detained in April 2016 and sentenced to death six months later after being convicted of the rape and murder of a seven-year-old Afghan girl, Setayesh Ghoreyshi.
Amnesty International and other human rights organisations have repeatedly urged Iran to stop juvenile executions. In an October 2017 statement, AI said: “There is no question that this was a horrific crime and the perpetrator should be held accountable. Amnesty International supports the demands for justice voiced by Setayesh’s bereaved family and the wider Afghan community in Iran, but executing a 17-year-old boy is not justice.”
According to Amnesty International “At least 90 juvenile offenders currently are on death row across Iran. Many have spent prolonged periods on death row – in some cases more than a decade. Some have had their executions scheduled then postponed or stayed at the last minute on multiple occasions, adding to their torment.”
International legal and judicial experts believe that these juveniles should not be executed for the crime they committed under the age of 18, Iran, however doesn’t accept and considers the death penalty necessary.
