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United Press International  GENEVA, Switzerland, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Tuesday urged Iran to not execute teens following reports that the country recently put to death two teens.
Reza Hedjazi is believed to have been executed Aug. 19 and Behnam Zaare on Aug. 26, commission spokesman Rupert Colville said in Switzerland, where the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is located. The two offenders reportedly were 15 and 16, respectively, when they committed their crimes, the spokesman said in a news release. "These executions appear to be in clear violation of international law, which contains an absolute prohibition of the death penalty for juvenile offenders," Colville said. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, both of which Iran ratified, bar the death penalty for crimes committed by people under the age of 18, Colville said. The U.N. unit also said it was concerned that two other juvenile Iranian offenders face executions soon. "We urge the government of Iran to stay the executions of both of them in strict compliance with its international human rights obligations and not to impose the death penalty for juvenile offenders in the future," Colville said. |
