Juvenile Offender Transferred to Solitary Confinement in Preparation for Execution

According to Iran Human Rights, Hassan Rezai, a juvenile convict on death row in Rasht Central Prison, was transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution. He has been behind bars for the past 12 years after being convicted of murder and sentenced to retribution. 

Informed sources have told Iran Human Rights that Hassan was under the age of 18 years old at the time of his arrest.

Hassan was previously transferred to solitary in preparation for his execution last year but was returned to his cell after he managed to buy time from his victim’s family in accordance with the law.   

Iran is one of the few countries in the world that still carries out the death penalty for juvenile offenders. However, Article 91 of the new Islamic Penal Code, passed in 2013, grants judges the power to not issue death sentences to children who did not know and comprehend the nature of the crime or its sanctity.

According to Iran Human Rights’ annual report, in 2019, at least four children were executed in violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Islamic Republic is a signatory to.

Given the security state and repression of civil society activists and the limited contact with prisoners, it is likely that the number of juvenile executions is much higher than recorded.