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30 juveniles on death row in prisons in Iran capital |
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Sunday, 16 January 2005 |
Iran Focus
 Tehran, Jan. 16 – At least 30 juveniles are on death row in Tehran and Rajai-Shahr (40km west of the Iranian capital) for offences they have been alleged to have committed under the age of 18.
"There are some 30 juveniles under the age of 18 in Tehran's Centre for Reform and Education (Juvenile Prison) and in Rajai-Shahr currently sentenced to death", Fahimeh Hajmohammad-Ali, a lawyer working in Iran's judiciary, said in an interview with a state-run news agency, ILNA.
Hajmohammad-Ali said that many of these juveniles were confused and naïve at the time of their offence, and should have a chance to be rehabilitated into society.
"Juveniles forced to work in an isolated environment often get involved in scuffles which sometime prove fatal", she said, adding, "Many of those on death row in the capital suffer from such lifestyles".
Speaking out against Iran's "eye-for-an-eye" penal code, Hajmohammad-Ali said that the law should be reviewed, especially in the case of young children.
She also criticized authorities for their approach in tackling youth delinquency as a whole.
Under Iranian law, girls above the age of nine and boys above the age of fifteen are considered as adults and could be executed for capital offences.
Under increasing international pressure, the Iranian regime keeps children on death row in juvenile detention centers until they turn 18. |
