Published:
Execution of Juvenile in Iran Scheduled for Monday, Amnesty International Says
Human Rights Organization Appeals for Stay of Execution
NEW YORK, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Amnesty International called on Iran today to issue an immediate order to stay the execution scheduled for Monday of Afghan national Abbas Hosseini, who was only 17 when accused of committing murder.
The human rights organization said it deplores the Iranian authorities' move to violate its international obligations by setting a date for the execution of a juvenile offender.
"It is sickening that Iran continues to flout international law by arranging to kill an individual accused of committing a crime as a child," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of Amnesty International's Middle East program.
"We appeal to the head of the judiciary to issue an immediate order to stay the execution and ensure that Abbas Hosseini's death sentence is overturned."
Hosseini was sentenced to death in June 2004 for the murder of a man who had tried to rape him in July 2003. Hosseini was re-tried but his death sentence was upheld, despite his age at the time of the alleged offense.
The victims' family has refused to pardon Hosseini in exchange for monetary compensation in the form of diyeh (blood money).
Since 1990, at least 41 juveniles have been executed in Iran and more than 140 are known to remain on death row.
This year, at least three juveniles have been executed in violation of Iran's obligations under international conventions.
SOURCE Amnesty International
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