Iran: UN rights experts outraged at the execution of two juvenile offenders 

GENEVA (16 October 2015) – United Nations human rights experts today expressed their outrage and profound sadness at the execution of Fatemeh Salbehi, a juvenile offender convicted for the death of her husband, whom she had been forced to marry at the age of 16. 

Ms. Salbehi was hanged on Tuesday 13 October in breach of international law banning juvenile executions, and despite reported flaws in her trial and appeal process. She is the 11th woman to be executed so far this year in Iran, where at least 700 other people have been executed. 

A week earlier, another juvenile offender was executed in secret in Iran: Samad Zahabi. No notice was provided to Mr. Zahabi’s family, nor was the required 48 hour notice provided to his lawyer. He was sentenced to death in March 2013 for the killing of a fellow shepherd, when he was only seventeen years old. 

“These executions are disturbing examples of surging execution rates and questionable fair trial standards in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed. “The Iranian authorities must comply with its international law obligations and put an end to the execution of juvenile offenders once and for all.” 

The UN Special Rapporteur on summary executions, Cristof Heyns, stated “Let us be clear – these are unlawful killings committed by the State, the equivalent of murders performed by individuals. These are profound tragedies that demean the value of human life and sully the reputation of the country.” He added that “executing a juvenile offender, especially after a questionable trial, directly contravenes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a party. Iran must immediately stop killing children”.   

“The lack of judicial consideration for Ms. Salbehi’s circumstances is emblematic of the struggles victims of domestic abuse face in the judicial system,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Šimonoviæ. “We cannot ignore the serious consequences of psychological, sexual and physical violence in the home on a woman’s physical and psychological health.” 

While highlighting Ms. Salbehi’s young age at the times of her marriages and her lack of consent, Ms. Šimonoviæ expressed concern for the high numbers of early and forced marriages in Iran.   

The UN human rights experts strongly urged the Iranian Government to immediately establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. 

ENDS 

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. Learn more, log on to: 
Human rights in Iran: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/IRIndex.aspx 
Summary executions: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Executions/Pages/SRExecutionsIndex.aspx 
Violence against women:  http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/SRWomen/Pages/SRWomenIndex.aspx 

UN Human Rights, Country Page – Iran: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/IRIndex.aspx   

For more information and media requests, please contact Mr. Naveed Ahmed (+41 22 928 9477 / nahmed@ohchr.org) 

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts: 
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)   

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