Iran promises Parliament to halt the execution of minors

Date: 04/05/05

Iran has given written assurances to the European Parliament that it will cease executing people found guilty of crimes committed before their eighteenth birthday.

Iranian diplomats recently contacted MEPs with commitments that some of the Islamic republic's controversial practices are to be eliminated.

One diplomat told European Voice that a bill prohibiting the execution of minors had been expected to go before the parliament, the Majilis, last month but has been delayed because of the assembly's heavy workload. But he expects that it will be submitted in the near future. The bill would not allow a death sentence to be carried out in any case where a crime had been committed by someone under 18.

As a signatory of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran is prohibited from executing minors. Nevertheless, 11 juvenile offenders have been executed since 1990. The most recent execution took place on 20 January, when Imam Farokhi was put to death for a crime committed when he was 17.

Simon Coveney, the Irish MEP who drafted Parliament's latest annual report on human rights in the world, said there now appeared to be an opportunity "for a change of mindset" in Iran.

"I will believe it when I see it. But the very fact that they are talking along these lines is significant," he said.

According to Amnesty International, the Iranian authorities have mooted an end to juvenile executions for more than two years, yet have not yet passed the required legislation. The legislative process can be lengthy in Iran. Once a bill has been approved by parliament, it would have to be ratified by the Council of Guardians, a body of Muslim lawyers and clergymen assessing whether proposals are in conformity with Islamic law.

About 30 juveniles are still under sentence of death.

Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch said: "A moratorium would be a good step. It would be an even better step if legislation made the moratorium permanent."

Iranian diplomats have also given assurances to MEPs that executions by stoning no longer occur in Iran.

Article reports on written assurances given to the European Parliament by Iranian diplomats that the country would cease executing people found guilty of crimes committed before their eighteenth birthday.