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Stop the imminent execution of a young man arrested and tortured at the age of 17
Iranian authorities plan to execute a 20-year-old man named Hossein Shahbazi on July 28, 2014, on charges of murder when he was only 17 years old. Part of the reason for his conviction includes "confessions" obtained through torture, Diana al-Tahawi, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa office, said in response.
"Iranian authorities must immediately stop the execution of Hossein Shahbazi, which is scheduled for July 28, 1400. The use of the death penalty against a person who was a child at the time of the crime is prohibited under international human rights law and violates Iran's international obligations. The execution of Hossein Shahbazi will be a heinous attack on the rights of the child and will ridicule justice.
The Iranian authorities must overturn the sentence of Hossein Shahbazi and guarantee his access to a fair retrial in full compliance with the principles of juvenile criminal justice, so that forced "confessions" are removed from the proceedings and resorted to the death penalty. Do not. "We also call on the international community, including the United Nations, the European Union and its member states, to take immediate action to save this young man."
Hossein Shahbazi was arrested on January 30, 2017 and sentenced to death on January 14, 2017 following a severely unfair trial by Branch 3 of the Criminal Court of a Fars province. He was denied access to a lawyer and his family for 11 days after his arrest, while he was detained and interrogated at the Agahi Detention Center in Shiraz.
He was then transferred to a juvenile detention center but was still denied access to his family for several days. He was then able to meet his mother. According to sources familiar with his case, during the visit, bruises on Hossein Shahbazi's face were visible and he apparently lost weight. He is currently being held in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.
Part of the reason for his conviction includes "confessions" that he said were obtained through torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in detention.
His sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court on June 17, 2016. In the verdict, which was studied by Amnesty International, judicial authorities acknowledged that he was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, but stated that, according to the Forensic Medicine Organization, he was mentally mature.
The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to use the death penalty against persons under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, in violation of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 2020, Iranian authorities executed at least three people who were at the time of the juvenile delinquency, and dozens of people who were at the time of the juvenile delinquency are still on death row. Iran executed at least 246 people in 2020, making it the embarrassing second largest executioner in the world
Iran: Stop imminent execution of young man arrested and tortured at 17
Responding to the Iranian authorities’ plans on 28 June to execute 20-year-old Hossein Shahbazi, who was convicted of a murder that took place when he was just 17 years old based, in part, on “confessions” obtained through torture, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, Diana Eltahawy, said:
“Iran’s authorities must immediately halt the execution of Hossein Shahbazi scheduled for 28 June. Using the death penalty against someone who was a child at the time of the crime is prohibited under international human rights law and violates Iran’s international obligations. Going ahead with this execution would be an abhorrent assault on children’s rights and would make an absolute mockery of justice.
“The Iranian authorities must quash Hossein Shahbazi’s conviction and sentence and grant him a fair retrial in full compliance with the principles of juvenile justice, excluding coerced ‘confessions’ and without resorting to the death penalty. We also call on the international community, including UN bodies and the EU and its member states, to urgently intervene to save this young man’s life."
Using the death penalty against someone who was a child at the time of the crime is prohibited under international human rights law and violates Iran’s international obligations
Hossein Shahbazi was arrested on 30 December 2018 and sentenced to death on 13 January 2020 after a grossly unfair trial before Branch 3 of Criminal Court One of Fars province. Following his arrest, he was denied access to a lawyer and his family for 11 days while detained and interrogated in the Investigation Unit of Iran's police (Agahi) in Shiraz, Fars province.
He was then transferred to a juvenile detention facility but was denied access to his family for several days, after which he was allowed a visit from his mother. According to sources with knowledge of his case, during this visit, he had bruises on his face and appeared to have lost weight. He is currently imprisoned in Adelabad prison in Shiraz.
He was convicted, in part, based on “confessions” that he said he made after being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment at the Agahi detention centre.
His conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court on 16 June 2020. In the verdict, reviewed by Amnesty International, the judicial authorities acknowledged that he was under 18 at the time of the crime, but stated that he had attained mental growth and maturity, according to an examination carried out by the Legal Medicine Organization, a state forensic institute.
Iran continues to use the death penalty for crimes committed by people under the age of 18, in violation of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The authorities executed at least three people who were under 18 at the time of the alleged crime in 2020, and scores of others remain on death row. In 2020, Iran carried out at least 246 executions securing the shameful place of second top executioner worldwide
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