Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
Iranwire – Amid a spike of executions in Iran, the Islamic Republic executed a young man who was a minor at the time he committed his alleged offense. The execution came two days after the hanging of a 17-year-old boy sparked international criticism.
Adel Damani, 25, was executed on November 26 in Chabahar prison in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan after being sentenced to death for murder.
Damani’s documents show he was only 16 years old when he participated in a group fight that led to the death of one person.
Haalvsh, a group that monitors rights violations in Sistan and Baluchistan, which is home to the country’s Sunni Baluch minority of up to 2 million people, reported that Damani repeatedly denied the murder accusation, insisting that he was unarmed during the fight.
The young man was executed after the judiciary on November 24 carried out the death sentence of 17-year-old Hamidreza Azari, who had been convicted of murder.
In a statement on November 28, the UN Human Rights Office reminded Iranian authorities that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits death sentences and their implementation for crimes committed by under 18s.
Iran is one of the countries with the highest death penalty figures, with members of minority groups being disproportionately sentenced to capital punishment.
According to the UN, the Islamic Republic executed at least 419 individuals in the first seven months of the year – a 30 percent increase compared to the same period in 2022.
Since 2010, at least 68 individuals below the age of 18 have been executed in the country, the Iran Human Rights Organization says.
Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, urged the government to immediately halt the application of the death penalty and establish a moratorium on its use.
“Until then, the death penalty may only be imposed for the most serious crimes, which refers to crimes of extreme gravity that result intentionally and directly in death,” she said. “We also call on the Government to stop using criminal procedures to punish political activists and others for exercising their rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.”
