Execution of Minors - Part 1

By Mohammad Mostafie

As part of our special series, “A Case in the Judiciary,” attorney and human rights activist Mohammad Mostafie discusses, in parts one and two of this article, the controversial subject of executing minors.

Some of the crimes that are punishable by death in our country include murder, drug trafficking and rape.

After a death sentence is issued by a court, the “Verdict Implementation Bureau” is charged with executing it. In some cases the death sentence is commuted with the consent of the victim’s family, a pardon by the supreme leader, etc.

In today’s world, capital punishment has been abolished in many countries.

In 1984, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution entitled “Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty.” It states, among other things: “In countries that have not abolished the death penalty, capital punishment may be imposed only for the most serious crimes, it being understood that their scope should not go beyond intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences.” Unfortunately however, in our country, even unintentional murder is punishable by death.

Elsewhere in the resolution it is stated: “Capital punishment may be imposed only for a crime for which the death penalty is prescribed by law at the time of its commission, it being understood that if, subsequent to the commission of the crime, provision is made by law for the imposition of a lighter penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby.”

Fortunately, this piece of international law is adhered to in Iran.

The resolution also states: “Persons below 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime shall not be sentenced to death, nor shall the death sentence be carried out on pregnant women, or on new mothers, or on persons who have become insane.”

Unfortunately, in Iran, minors are subject to the death penalty and execution.

Another part of the resolution states: “Capital punishment may be imposed only when the guilt of the person charged is based upon clear and convincing evidence leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts.”

In our country, the judicial process is anything but [just]. For one thing, the defense attorney is barred from the preliminary investigation and from the interrogation phase of his or her client. Moreover, on many occasions, the evidence by which the accused is convicted is nowhere near “clear and convincing.” As a consequence, many innocent people have and continue to receive death sentences in Iran.

Last but not least, the resolution proclaims: “Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to appeal to a court of higher jurisdiction, and steps should be taken to ensure that such appeals shall become mandatory.” And, “Capital punishment shall not be carried out pending any appeal or other recourse procedure or other proceeding relating to pardon or commutation of the sentence.”

However, in Iran, once the process runs its course and the case is referred to the “Verdict Implementation Bureau,” there is no additional remedy or a way to keep the sentence from being carried out.

In conclusion, I believe if our judicial system adheres to these simple, basic and fair rules, the number of executions in our country will dramatically decline; and we will no longer appear on or near the top of the list of countries with the highest numbers of executions every year.