Risk of Execution of a Juvenile Offender in Adel-Abad Prison, Shiraz; Call to Save Mohammadreza Azizi’s Life
20-October-2024
Category: Children، executions
October 20, 2024
News Category: Children
Breathing in Confinement: Mohammadreza Azizi, who was 17 years old at the time of his arrest on charges of “murder,” is at imminent risk of execution.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, a juvenile offender named Mohammadreza Azizi, who was arrested on murder charges and sentenced to death, faces the imminent execution of his sentence.
Based on information from the reporter of Breathing in Confinement, Mohammadreza Azizi, a resident of Zarghan, committed murder at the age of 17 while legitimately defending himself against an assault by his friend. Mohammadreza Azizi was arrested in 2021 at the age of 17 and imprisoned in the Green Ward (Youth Ward) of Adel-Abad Prison in Shiraz. He was later sentenced to death by the Shiraz Criminal Court.
Now 21 years old, Mohammadreza Azizi is at imminent risk of execution. Amnesty International, in a statement issued today, condemned the Iranian authorities’ plan to execute a juvenile and stated: “By sentencing children to death, Iran is violating international law.”
According to Breathing in Confinement, Mohammadreza Azizi’s execution, which was originally scheduled for Sunday, has been postponed by one day, increasing the likelihood of the sentence being carried out on October 21.
According to Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the execution of individuals under 18 is prohibited. Furthermore, Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child explicitly ban such sentences.
The Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran warns against the execution of this juvenile offender and calls on global human rights organizations to take an urgent action.