Iranian authorities have scheduled the execution of a juvenile offender on October 19. He was only 16 at the time of committing a murder.
Iran Human Rights (Oct 17 2017): Iran Human Rights (IHR) calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately stop the scheduled execution of Amir Hossain Pourjafar and all death row prisoners who have committed a crime before the age of 18. Execution Amir Hossein Pourjafar, is an obvious violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Iran has ratified.
Amir Hossein Pourjafar, born in December 1999, was convicted of rape and murder of Setayesh Ghoreishi, a six-year-old Afghan girl in April 2016 when he was 16 years old.
Amir Hossein is scheduled to be executed on October 19 according to the Iranian media.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director and spokesperson of IHR said, “Just like the brutal murder of Setayesh, the execution of Amir Hossein Pourjafar will be a crime. Instead of promoting violence by executing Amir Hossein, Iranian authorities should think of a solution to put an end to the increasing violence which is taking new victims in the Iranian society every day.”
The Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Varamin (near Tehran) said recently to the Iranian media that Amir Hossein Pourjafar, is now 18 according to the lunar calendar, therefore, we can implement his death sentence.
Although the Convention on the Rights of the Child bans death penalty for those who commit a crime before the age of 18, Iran’s judicial authorities wait until the defendant reaches the age of 18 in order to implement their sentence. However, in the case of Amir Hossein, he will be 17 years and 10 months (corresponding to 18 lunar years) at the time of the scheduled execution.
According to his lawyer’s statement to an official media, Amir Hossein was born on December 17, 1999. He was 16 when he murdered Setayesh on April 11, 2016.
The Criminal Court of Tehran issued the death sentence of Amir Hossain Pourjafar based on an assessment by the forensics which stated that the defendant was mentally mature at the time of crime and he was aware of the nature of the crime and the consequences of his action.
The Prosecutor of Varamin told the media that the defendant is currently held at the Correction and Rehabilitation Center and his sentence will be carried out on October 19.
Since the beginning of 2017, Iran Human Rights has reported the executions of five juvenile offenders in Iran.