A 22-year-old man was executed on January 30, 2018 in the central prison of Bushehr, southern Iran.
The victim, Ali Kazemi was found guilty of murder in 2011. He was only 15 years old at the time the crime was committed. The execution, which has not been made public by the state media was carried out without any prior notice given to Ali Kazemi’s lawyer.
On 29 January, his family was told Ali Kazemi’s execution had been scheduled for the next day and that they should go to Busher prison in the evening for a last visit. However, that same evening the family was told Kazemi’s execution had been halted. On the morning of 30 January, the authorities called to reassure the family that the execution had not taken place. However, at midday today, Ali Kazemi’s family was suddenly told the execution had just been carried out.
Earlier this month, Iran executed Amirhossein Pourjafar, who was under the age of 18 at the time of arrest.
Amnesty International expressed outrage over the execution of the young man stating “By carrying out this unlawful execution, Iran is effectively declaring that it wishes to maintain the country’s shameful status as one of the world’s leading executers of those who were children at the time of their crime,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.
“This is nothing short of an all-out assault on children’s rights, as enshrined in international law, which absolutely bans the use of the death penalty against someone who was under 18 years of age at the time of the crime,” Amnesty International added.
