World

UN condemns Iran over 'juvenile execution'

January 1, 2021 7:37 am

The UN has condemned the execution by Iran of a man for a crime he allegedly committed when he was 16 years old.

Its human rights office said that Mohammad Hassan Rezaiee, aged 30, was put to death on Thursday.

Amnesty International said Rezaiee had been arrested in 2007 over the fatal stabbing of a man. It said he was convicted on a forced confession.

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It had warned that carrying out the sentence would represent “an abhorrent assault on children’s rights”.

“Imposing the death penalty on someone who was a child at the time of the crime is a serious violation of international human rights law, which absolutely prohibits the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by children,” it said in a statement earlier this month.

Following news of Rezaiee’s execution, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Michelle Bachelet, issued a statement saying she “strongly condemns” Iran’s action.