Minor offender Pouria Tabaie was sentenced to death for murder and is now on death row in Rajaie Shahr prison in Karaj. Pouria Tabaie was born on July 17, 1992. He was 16 on the day he carried out the murder on July 17, which falls on his birthday. The 113th Branch of the Tehran Penal Court and Supreme Court, refused to send him to a forensic doctor to determine his mental maturity.
In another development on Monday February 12, at least 15 prisoners from various sections in Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj were transferred to solitary cells for execution. According to reports, minor-offender Omid Rostami was among them. Omid Rostami was sentenced to death for a murder he committed as a minor (under the age of 18).
Iran executed at least three child offenders across the country in January 2018.
Human Rights Watch called on Iran to immediately and unconditionally end the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by children under the age of 18, and move toward a complete ban on capital punishment.
The organization named the three young people that were executed in January as Amirhossein Pourjafar, Ali Kazemi and Mahboubeh Mofidi. They were executed for crimes they allegedly committed when they were 16, 15 and 17 years old respectively.
Amnesty International has indicated that between 2014 and 2017, there have been at least 25 individuals executed in Iran for crimes that they committed when they were minors.
As well as carrying out executions, Iran continues to use medieval methods of punishment such as the amputation of limbs and lashing. There is no place for such cruelty and the Iranian regime must be held accountable for its actions.
