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Arbour rebukes Iran for hanging juvenile offender

07 Dec 2007 10:31:43 GMT
Source: Reuters

GENEVA, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights commissioner rebuked Iran on Friday for hanging a man convicted of raping 3 boys when he was 13, noting that international law bans the execution of people for crimes committed when they were minors.

Makwan Mouloudzadeh, 20, was put to death on Wednesday in a prison in the western province of Kermanshah, Iranian media said.

U.N. human rights chief Louise Arbour, a former United Nations war crimes prosecutor and Canadian Supreme Court judge, noted reports that Mouloudzadeh's alleged victims had withdrawn their accusations and there was an order for a judicial review of his case.

"The High Commissioner calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to respect its international legal obligations and the strong international consensus against the execution of minors," Arbour said in a statement.

Two landmark human rights pacts ratified by Iran -- the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child -- prohibit states from imposing the death penalty on those who were under the age of 18 when a crime was committed, she said.

Iran is the leading executor of children and juvenile offenders, according to Human Rights Watch.

The U.S.-based group had called on Tehran to prevent the execution, saying Mouloudzadeh was sentenced to death in May by a Kermanshah court even though it said all of his accusers had retracted their statements.

Iran says it is prosecuting criminals under its Islamic Sharia law and rejects criticism of its human rights record. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Sami Aboudi)

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Last updated:Fri Dec 7 10:30:50 2007