Tag Archives: Amnesty International

JOIN the Campaign for Delara initiated by Amnesty International UK

Amnesty International UK has initiated a campaign to save Delara Darabi. Please join Amnesty International and Stop Child Executions for the new campaign :

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10930#background

 

Amnesty UK members holding a message to Delara in Persian

The new campaign has a writing on 5 pages in Persian that says”  DEAR DELARA WE ARE THINKING OF YOU.” You can print the pages and take pictures with friends holding the banners. You can then email them to us and we will forward to Delara and also publish them in here.  She will be happy to see that we are thinking of her.

Delara Darabi: Photograph instructions

Delara Darabi: Message in Farsi

 

SCE alphabetized list of 71 Iranian Children facing execution

Amnesty International with cooperation of Stop Child Executions Campign issued a report titled: Iran The Last Executioner of Children.  The 46 page report is most comprehensive report in English and Persian to date lists 71 children facing execution in Iran.

Last month other reports were published by Emadeldin Baaghi , the founder of the Association for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights in Iran, Human Rights Watch and Stop Child Execution Campaign.

After comparison of the Amnesty International Report to the latest Stop Child Executions list , we have update the list to reflect 71 known cases of children facing Execution in Iran. This number is anticipated to be increased as more international attention is being directed to Iran’s violation of children rights. 

(The numbers after the names are the age, when known, of the person when 
the crime they are sentenced for were committed)

Girls:

  1. Delara Darabi, 17
  2. Nazbibi Ateshbejan, 16
  3. Soghra Najafpour, 13
Boys:
  1. Abbass Hosseini, 17    
  2. Abdolkhaleq Rakhshani       
  3. Ahmad Jabari, 15       
  4. Ahmad Nourzahi, 12   
  5. Akoo Hosseini          
  6. Ali Alijan, 17       
  7. Ali Mahin Torabi, 16       
  8. Ali Norumohammadi, 16 
  9. Alireza Movassili Roudi, 16       
  10. Amir Calehchaleh, 17       
  11. Asghar, 16       
  12. Behador Khaleqi, 16     
  13. Beniamin Rasouli, 17     
  14. Farshad Sa’eedi, 17       
  15. Farzad, 15       
  16. Feyz Mohammad, 16       
  17. Feyzollah Soltani
  18. Gholam Nabi Barahouti, 16
  19. Habib Afsar, 15
  20. Hamed, 15
  21. Hamid, 17
  22. Hamid Reza, 14
  23. Hamzeh S., 17
  24. Hani Momeni Yasaqi
  25. Hasan Mozaffari
  26. Hedayat Niroumand, 14 or 15
  27. Hossein Gharabaghloo, 16
  28. Hossein Haghi, 17
  29. Hossein Toranj, 17
  30. Iman, 17
  31. Khodamorad Shahemzadeh, 17
  32. Mahmoud, 17
  33. Masoud, 17
  34. Mehdi, 16
  35. Mehyar Haghgoo, 17
  36. Mehyar Anvari, 17
  37. Milad Bakhtiari, 16
  38. Mohammad Jahedi
  39. Mohammad Jamali Paghale, 15
  40. Mohammad Mavari, 16
  41. Mohammad Pezhman
  42. Mohammad Reza Turk
  43. Morteza Feizi, 16
  44. Mostafa, 16
  45. Mostafa Sa’idi
  46. Nabavat Baba’I, 17
  47. Na’im Kolb’ali, 15
  48. Naser Qasemi, 15
  49. Ne’mat, 15
  50. Omarraddin Alkuzehi, 17
  51. Omid Sarani, 17
  52. Rahman Shahidi
  53. Rasoul Eyvatvandi, 17
  54. Rasoul Mohammadi, 17
  55. Rasoul Nouriyani
  56. Rasoul Safari, 17
  57. Reza Alinejad, 17
  58. Saber
  59. Sadegh Ahmadpour, 17
  60. Sa’eed Jazee, 17
  61. Sa’id Arab
  62. Sajjad, 17
  63. Salman Akbari, 17
  64. Shahram Pourmansouri, 17
  65. Sina Paymard, 16
  66. Siyavash Shirnejad
  67. Vahid, 16
  68. Zolf’ali Hamzeh, 

بیانیه مطبوعاتی عفو بینلملل

بیانیه مطبوعاتی عفو بینالملل


AI Index: MDE 13/078/2007 (Public)
News Service No: 119

تاریخ انتشار: 27 ژوئن 2007


ایران: به اعدام كودكان خاتمه دهید

«دختر من دلارا دارابي متهم به قتلي ناکرده است….  به من و به ما کمک کنيد تا عدالت را اجرا کنيم. در اينجا بويي از عدالت و انسانيت نيست.»
پدر دلارا دارابی كه در انتظار اعدام به سر میبرد، 11 ژانویه 2007

عفو بینالملل مقامات قضایی وسیاسی ایران را فرا میخواند كه برایجلوگیری از اعدامهای بیشتر كودكان بزهكار دستور توقف فوری این اعدامها را صادر كنند و برای این كه هیچ كودك مرتكب جرم به مجازات اعدام محكوم نگردد قوانین كشور را تغیر دهند.  این سازمان در گزارش جدیدی میگوید كه دست كم 71 كودك بزهكار در ایران در انتظار اعدام به سر میبرند و این كشور از سال 1990 تاکنون بیش از هر كشور دیگری كودكان بزهكار را اعدام كرده است. 

مَلکُم اسمارت، مدیر كل برنامه خاورمیانه و شمال آفریقا اظهار داشت: «ایران عملاً تنها كشوری است كه كودكان بزهكار را – كسانی را كه در هنگام وقوع جرمی که به خاطر آن محکوم شدهاند كمتر از 18 سال داشتهاند – اعدام میكند.  وقت آن رسیده است كه مقامات ایران به این رفتار شرمآور – قاطعانه – خاتمه دهند و خود را در كنار بقیه جامعه بینالمللی قرار دهند كه مدتها است قباحت اعدام كسانی را كه در زمان كودكی مرتكب جرم شدهاند دریافته است.»

عفو بینالملل در گزارشیتحت عنوان «ایران: آخرین اعدام كننده كودكان» نام 71 كودك بزهكار در انتظار اعدام را كه اعلام شده فهرست كرده است، ولی اضافه میكند كه تعداد كل ممكن است خیلی بیشتر از این باشد، چرا كه اعتقاد برآن است كه گزارش بسیاری از موارد مجازات اعدام در ایران منتشر نمیشود.  از 24 كودكی كه اعدام آنها از سال 1990 تاکنون گزارش شده است، 11 نفر در موقع اعدام هنوز زیر 18 سال بودهاند و بقیه یا تا سن 18 سالگی زیر حکم اعدام نگه داشتهشدهاند یا پس از 18 سالگی محاكمه و محكوم شدهاند. 

مَلکُم اسمارت گفت:«مقامات ایران اعدام كودكان را تكذیب میكنند، ولی در سال جاریتا كنون ما دو مورد اعدام كودكان بزهكار را ثبت كردهایم.  محمد موسوی، 19 ساله، به خاطر جرمی كه در 16 سالگی او انجام شده بود در ماه آوریل اعدام شد، و سعید قنبرزهی در 17 سالگیهمراه با شش نفر دیگر از اقلیت بلوچ ایران به اعدام محكوم گردید و دو ماه بعد در 27 مه 2007 در زندان زاهدان به دار آویخته شد».

اعدام عاطفه رجبیسهاله، كه به خاطر «جرایم منافیعفت» محكوم و در 16 اوت 2004 در 16 سالگی به دار آویخته شد یكی از مواردی است كه در گزارش عفو بینالملل برجسته شده است.  یك روز پس از اعدام او، یك مقام قضایی به یك روزنامه گفت كه او 22 سال داشته است.  پرونده رجبی قصور نظام قضایی ایران در محافظت از كودكان را برجسته میكند و گواه دیگری بر این كه در ایران كودكان بزهكار حتی پیش از رسیدن به سن 18 سالگی اعدام میشوند، عرضه میدارد.  گزارش همچنین 17 مورد دیگر از كسانی را فهرست كرده است كه به خاطر جنایاتی كه به هنگام ارتكاب آن زیر 18 سال بودهاند اعدام شدهاند.

گرچه در مقایسه با كل اعدامها تعداد اعدام كودكان بزهكار در ایران زیاد نیست، این امر بیاعتنایی حكومت را  نسبت به تعهدات و الزامات آن طیق قوانین بینالمللی، كه كاربرد مجازات مرگ در مورد كودكان بزهكار را در همه شرایط منع كرده است، برجسته میكند.  به جز ایران، تنها كشورهایی كه از سال 2003 تاکنون اعدام كودكان در آنها ثبت شده چین، سودان و پاكستان بودهاند؛ گرچه مقامات چین و پاكستان تأكید میكنند كه اعدامیها به هنگام ارتكاب جرم 18 سال یا بیش از سال داشتهاند.  در هر یک از این سالها تعداد كودكان بزهكار اعدام شده در ایران بیش از مجموع  دیگر کودکان بزهکار اعدام شده بوده است.

اعتقاد بر این است كه تعدادی از اعضای دولت و قوه قضاییه ایران، اگر طرفدار الغای کامل نباشند، دست كم طرفدار كاهش مجازات اعدام برای كودكان بزهكارند، ولی پیشرفت بطور تأسفباری آهسته است.  برای مثال، پیشنویس لایحهای كه در سال 2001 از سوی قوه قضاییه مطرح شد میتواند راه را برای لغو حكم اعدام برای افراد صغیر باز کند، یا دست كم به كاهش تعداد جرایمیكه كودكان بزهكار را میتوان به خاطر آنها به مرگ محكوم كرد، منجر شود ، ولی این لایحه هنوز از طرف مقامات سیاسیو قضایی تحت بررسی است. 

همراه با اعدامهای وحشتانگیز كودكان، و مشكل وسیعتر مجازات اعدام در ایران، نشانههای مثبتی به چشم میخورد، به خصوص جنبش رو به رشدی در سالهای اخیر برای لغو مجازات اعدام كودكان بزهكار در ایران شكل گرفته است.  این جنبش را گروهی شجاع از مدافعان و فعالان حقوق بشر در ایران رهبری میكنند و تا كنون به موفقیتهای قابل توجهی دست یافتهاند.

آقای مَلکُم اسمارت گفت: «عفو بینالملل بدون قید و شرط، با مجازات اعدام برای هر كسی، صرف نظر از سن آنان و صرف نظر از ماهیت جرم یا شخصیت محكوم، مخالف است.  هر اعدام توهینی به حیثیت انسان است – یك نقض حقوق بشر و حشونتی عمدی كه حق حیات گنجانده شده در اعلامیه جهانی حقوق بشر را نفی میكند».

سند عمومی:

http://www.stopchildexecutions.com/MDE 1305907 FINAL PERSIAN.doc
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برای اطلاع بیشتر، لطفا با دفتر مطبوعاتی عفو بینالملل در لندن به شماره 5566 7413 20 44+ تماس بگیرید
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org
http://news.amnesty.org   برای آخرین خبرها در مورد حقوق بشر به تارنمای عفو بین الملل مراجعه كنید.

PRESS RELEASE: Amnesty International Urges Iran to End Child Executions

WASHINGTON, June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Iran’s judicial and
political authorities should order an immediate moratorium to prevent
further executions of child offenders and amend the laws so no children who
commit crimes can be sentenced to death, Amnesty International urged today
in a new report, Iran: The Last Executioner of Children.” The organization
states that at least 71 child offenders are awaiting execution in Iran,
where more child offenders have been executed than in any other country
since 1990.
    “It is absolutely shameful that Iran continues this hideous practice,”
sad Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA executive director. “The Iranian
government must end this immoral system. Executing those who commit crimes
while they’re only children is not only against international standards, it
is absolutely repulsive and unconscionable.”
    Amnesty International lists the names of the 71 child offenders known
to be facing the death penalty, but notes that the total number may be much
higher as many death penalty cases in Iran are believed to go unreported.
Of the 24 child offenders recorded as having been executed since 1990, 11
were still under the age of 18 at the time of their execution while the
others were either kept on death row until they had reached 18 or were
convicted and sentenced after reaching that age.
    “Though Iranian officials deny reports that they execute minors,
Amnesty International has recorded two executions this year,” said Elise
Auerbach, Amnesty International USA Iran country specialist. “In April,
Mohammad Mousavi, aged 19, was executed for a crime committed when he was
16. Sa’id Qanbar Zahi was only 17 when he was hanged on May 27, 2007 at
Zahedan prison. Zahi was sentenced to death with six other members of
Iran’s Baluchi minority two months earlier.”
    The execution of Atefeh Rajabi Sahaaleh, sentenced for “crimes against
chastity” and hanged at the age of 16 in August 2004, is one of seven cases
highlighted by the report. A day after her execution, a judiciary official
told a newspaper that she was 22-years-old. Rajabi’s case highlights the
failure of the Iranian judicial system to protect children and provides
further evidence that some child offenders are executed in Iran even before
they reach the age of 18. The report also lists the cases of 17 other
people who were executed for crimes committed when they were under the age
of 18.
    Although executions of child offenders are few compared to the total
number of executions in Iran, they highlight the government’s disregard for
its commitments and obligations under international law, which prohibits in
all circumstances the use of the death penalty against child offenders.
Apart from Iran, the only countries in which executions of child offenders
have been recorded since 2003 are China, Sudan and Pakistan, though the
Chinese and Pakistani authorities insisted that those executed were aged 18
or over at the time of the crime. In each year the number of child
offenders executed in Iran exceeded the total number of all other
executions of child offenders.
    Some members of the Iranian government and the judiciary are also
believed to favor at least reducing, if not abolishing, the death penalty
for child offenders, but progress is painfully slow. For example, a draft
law proposed by the judiciary in 2001 could pave the way for the abolition
of the death sentence for minors or at least result in a reduction in the
number of offenses for which child offenders could be sentenced to death,
but the draft law is still under consideration by the political and
judicial authorities.
    Amid the horror of child executions and the wider problem of the death
penalty in Iran, there are some positive signs, particularly the emergence
of a growing movement favoring the abolition of the death penalty for child
offenders. This is being led by a courageous band of human rights defenders
and activists within Iran, and it has already achieved some notable
successes.
    “Amnesty International applauds the brave Iranians who take enormous
risks to end one of the most horrendous systems practiced by any nation,”
said Cox.
    For a copy of the new report, Iran: The Last Executioner of Children,
please contact the AIUSA press office at 202.544.0200 x 302.

SOURCE Amnesty International USA

FOR COPY OF REPORT CLICK:  www.stopchildexecutions.com/Iran180607.pdf

Amnesty UK members take action to save Delara Darabi

Source: Gazzette Correspondent , UK

During their annual meeting, members of the Amnesty International of Taunton, UK “took part in an activity to make a banner of goodwill for Delara Darabi, an Iranian citizen, who has been given the death penalty for an alleged crime that occurred when she was 17. Iran have agreed not to execute child offenders, and new evidence has come to light which could prove the innocence of Delara. It’s hoped this action which is being replicated by local groups around the country, will encourage the authorities in Iran to review her case. “

Amnesty International (Sweden) protest against Child Executions in Iran

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Eric Klefberg

Today Amnesty in the city of Borås, Sweden demonstrated on the town square in Borås to protest executions of minors in Iran. “Death penalty is used as state terrorism and Iran is breaking human rights in many ways” said Osborn Holmstrand who also gathered signatures for a petition.

Amnesty-protest mot avrättningar

[Mån 18:43] Borås I dag tog Amnesty Borås plats på Stora torget i Borås för att protestera mot avrättningar av minderåriga i Iran. 

Nazanin meets Amnesty representatives in UK and Canada

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 During the past two weeks Nazanin Afshin_jam had three meetings with representatives of Amnesty International in London and Vancouver discussing joint efforts to Stop Child Executions in Iran.


SCE Campaign and Amnesty International have been in continuous contacts exchanging information and discussing the two campaigns to Stop Child Executions.

 

 

Amnesty International USA demand an immediate end to child executions

In their new issue update, Amnesty International USA demanded a worldwide end to the child executions and referred the readers to the SCE Campaign website, followed by links to Amnesty’s recent Urgent Action reports condeming the recent execution of Sa’id Qanbar Zahi in Iran  and demanding a halt to the execution orders of Delara Darabi in Iran, Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai’I , Sultan and Mohammed Koheil in Saudi Arabia:

Stop Child Executions!

International law prohibits the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by people younger than 18, yet some countries continue to execute child offenders or sentence them to death. As a step towards the total abolition of the death penalty around the world, Amnesty International is calling for:

  • An immediate end to all executions of child offenders.
  • All existing death sentences against child offenders to be commuted.
  • All countries that retain the death penalty to ensure that its use against child offenders is precluded by law.
  • Such countries to take measures to ensure that their courts do not sentence child offenders to death, including, where necessary, the examination of birth certificates. Where systems of issuing birth certificates do not exist, such systems should be introduced, as required under Article 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

» Stop Child Executions in Iran
» Condemn the execution of child offender Sa’id Qanbar Zahi and stop the execution of six others in Iran (Urgent Action 76/07)
» Halt Imminent Execution of Child Offender Delara Darabi in Iran (Urgent Action 4/06)
» Stop Three Executions, Two of Child Offenders, in Saudi Arabia (Urgent Action 116/07)

 Source: Amnesty International USA 

Child Executions : VIEWS OF MEDICAL EXPERTS

The following is from a 2004 letter by medical professionals to the countries that executed children about why children should be penalized different than adults:

“….The restriction on the application of adult penalties to juveniles is a widely accepted principle in law around the world. The reason for this was set out, for example, in an opinion of the US Supreme Court in the capital appeal case of Johnson v Texas in 1993, an appeal based, among other things, on the failure of a Texas court to adequately take into account Johnson’s age at the time of the crime.

The court observed that: “A lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility are found in youth more often than in adults and are more understandable among the young. These qualities often result in impetuous and ill considered actions and decisions.” (2)

Our work with adolescents makes clear to us that this period of life is marked by the kind of “underdeveloped sense of responsibility” cited by the US Supreme Court.

We would argue that although adolescents generally know the difference between right and wrong, they can suffer from diminished capacities to reason logically, to control their impulses, to think through the future consequences of their actions, and to resist the negative influences and persuasion of others. They should face punishment for criminal actions, but the sanctions which can be imposed on mentally competent adolescent offenders should not be the same as those faced by adults found guilty of the same offences.(3)

For these reasons, we believe that executing offenders aged less than 18 at the time of their offence is unacceptable.

As you no doubt know, evolving international standards prohibit the execution of child offenders. These standards include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the American Convention on Human Rights and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. We attach the text of the relevant provisions for your information. This prohibition is now so widely accepted as to constitute a principle of customary international law. The relevant standards are respected by the overwhelming majority of the 80 countries which still retain and use the death penalty.

We are aware that although almost all countries whose laws still provide for the death penalty have now established a minimum age of 18 in national law or have ratified international treaties binding them to respect the prohibition, some death sentences have still been imposed and some executions have been carried out.

We urge you to modify the current policy, practice or safeguards of your country so that no one who was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime for which they have been convicted is sentenced to death or executed… “

To view the signatures click here:

[List of signatories follows]
Signatories of open letter against executions of juvenile offenders(4)
Robert Wm. Blum MD MPH PhD
William H. Gates Sr. Professor and Chair
Department of Population and Family Health Sciences
Johns Hopkins University
Bloomberg School of Public Health
Baltimore, Maryland
United States of America

Dr Jens Buchhave [*]
Chairman of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Association in Denmark
Specialist in Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry
Chief Consultant at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Hospital,
University Hospital of Aarhus
Aarhus
Denmark

Prof. Jørgen Cohn
Specialist in Paediatrics
Emeritus Professor at the Paediatric-Health and Human Rights Department,
University Hospital of Tromsø, Norway
Ærøskøbing
Denmark

Boel Andersson Gäre MD PhD [*]
Chairman of the Swedish Pediatric Society
Head, Child Public Health, Jönköping County
55185 Jönköping
Sweden

Dr Robert Hillard
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Toronto
Director of Education, Pediatric Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children
555 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8
Canada

Dr Arne Høst [*]
Chairman of the Danish Paediatric Society
Specialist in Paediatrics
Chief Consultant at the Paediatric Department H,
University Hospital of Odense
Odense
Denmark

Dr Patrice Huerre
Psychiatre Expert près la Cour d’Appel de Paris
Clinique Médico Universitaire Heuyer
6 rue du Conventionnel Chiappe
75013 Paris
France

Dr Jørgen Hurum [*]
Chairman of the Norwegian Paediatric Association
Specialist in Paediatrics
Consultant at the Hospital of Lillehammer
Lillehammer
Norway

Professeur Axel Kahn
Directeur de l’Institut Cochin
Directeur de l’IFR Alfred Jost
22 rue Méchain
75014 Paris
France

Dr Björn Lundin [*]
Chairman of the Swedish Society for Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry
Specialist in Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry
Consultant at the University Hospital in Linköping
Sweden

Dr Klaus Minde
Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, McGill University
Director Anxiety Clinic, Montreal Children’s Hospital
McGill University Health Centre
2300 Tupper Street
Montreal, Quebec H3H 1P3
Canada

Charles A. Nelson PhD
Distinguished McKnight University
Professor of Child Psychology, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics
Nancy M. and John E. Lindahl Professor for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Institute of Child Development
University of Minnesota
51 East River Road
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States of America

Julius B Richmond MD
Surgeon General of the United States of America, 1977-1981
John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy Emeritus, Department of
Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Recipient, C. Anderson Aldrich Award in Child Development, American Academy of Pediatrics
Cambridge, MA
United States of America

Allan Rosenfield MD
Dean, Mailman School of Public Health
Columbia University
722 West 168th Street, Suite 1408
New York, NY 10032
USA

Associate Professor Susan M Sawyer MBBS MD FRACP
Director, Centre for Adolescent Health
Royal Children’s Hospital
Parkville, Vic 3052
Australia

Dr Jan Skandsen [*]
Chairman of the Norwegian Association in Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry
Specialist in Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry
Consultant at the Psychiatry Clinic, Child – and adolescent psychiatry dep.
Stavanger
Norway

Laurence Steinberg PhD
Distinguished University Professor
Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States of America

Dr Serge Tisseron
Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst
Professor, University Paris 7 Denis Diderot,
75251 Paris Cedex 05
France

Professor Eric Taylor FRCP FRCPsych FMedSci
Head of Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Institute of Psychiatry – Kings College London
De Crespigny Park
London SE5 8AF
United Kingdom

Professor William Yule
Professor of Applied Child Psychology
Institute of Psychiatry – King’s College London
De Crespigny Park,
London SE5 8AF
United Kingdom

Amnesty International issues URGENT ACTION on Delara Darabi

A word of thanks to Amnesty International for their immediate response and issuing the urgent action statement on Delara Darabi :  LINK 

 

Iran: Further information on death penalty / legal concern: Delara Darabi (f)

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/047/2007
27 April 2007

Further Information on UA 04/06 (MDE 13/084/2006, 01 August 2006) and follow-up
(MDE 13/038/2007, 27 March 2007) – Death penalty/legal concern/health concern

IRAN Delara Darabi (f), aged 20, child offender

Delara Darabi’s death sentence has been confirmed by the Supreme Court,
according to a 25 April report in the newspaper Etemad. The verdict has
apparently been sent to the office of the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah
Shahroudi, for consideration.

Her father has again requested that she be transferred from Rasht Prison to
Evin, in Tehran, on the grounds that conditions in Rasht may have led in part
to her January suicide attempt. Her life was saved by her cellmates, who
alerted the prison authorities. According to recent reports, Delara Darabi has
been beaten in Rasht Prison, leaving her with a broken arm, and she is in poor
health. She reportedly also suffers from a pre-existing kidney complaint. It is
not known whether she is receiving adequate medical care, but her condition has
reportedly worsened in prison.

Delara Darabi, then aged 17, reportedly burgled the house of an elderly female
relative on 29 September 2003 together with a 19-year-old man named Amir
Hossein Sotoudeh. Amir Hossein allegedly killed the woman during the burglary.
Delara Darabi initially confessed to the murder, but subsequently retracted her
confession, claiming that Amir Hossein had asked her to admit responsibility
for the murder to protect him from execution, believing that as she was under
18, she could not be sentenced to death. Iran is a state party to international
treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
that expressly prohibit the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by
those under the age of 18.

Delara Darabi was sentenced to death by Branch 10 of the General Court in Rasht
in 2005. The Supreme Court later found “deficiencies” in the case and sent it
for retrial. Following further trial sessions in January and June 2006, Delara
Darabi was sentenced to death for a second time. Amir Hossein Sotoudeh was
sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for complicity in the murder and both
received sentences of three years’ imprisonment and 50 lashes for robbery, and
20 lashes for an “illicit relationship”. Delara Darabi’s death sentence was
confirmed by the Supreme Court on 16 January 2007. According to the Etemad
report, this sentence has now been further confirmed by Branch 7 of the Iran’s
Supreme Court, sitting as a sentencing “discernment”, or review, body (Sho’
be-ye tashkhis).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Despite being a state party to international treaties which prohibit the use of
the death penalty against anyone under the age of 18 at the time of offence,
many child offenders are under sentence of death in Iran.

At least 177 people were executed in Iran in 2006, including one who was under
the age of 18 at the time of execution, and at least three others who were
under 18 at the time of the offences of which they were convicted.

On 14 January 200, judges in a Tehran criminal court cleared 19-year-old
Mahabad Fatehi (known as Nazanin Fatehi) of premeditated murder, but ordered
her to pay diyeh (blood money) to the family of the man she killed in
self-defence in March 2005. She had been sentenced to death for murder in
January 2006, but following domestic and international protests, her death
sentence was quashed by the Supreme Court in May 2006 and her case sent for
retrial (see UA 220/05, MDE 13/047/2005, 24 August 2005, and follow-ups).