Iran: Move To End Juvenile Executions
17 Oct 2008 14:24:59 GMT
Source: Human Rights Watch
(New York, October 17, 2008) – A recent judicial ban on juvenile executions in Iran should save more than 130 juvenile offenders currently on death row from execution, Human Rights Watch said today. An Iranian Judiciary official announced on October 15, 2008 that death sentences for offenders under the age of 18 would be commuted to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. Human Rights Watch said Iranian law should be changed to ensure the ban is enforced.
Since January 2005, Iran has been responsible for 26 of the 32 known executions of juvenile offenders worldwide. International law prohibits all executions of persons who were under the age of 18 at the time they committed their crimes, and pressure is growing on Iran and the four other states known to execute juvenile offenders to conform with international law. On October 14, more than 300 nongovernmental organizations from 82 countries called on the United Nations to take 
