Human Rights Crisis In Iran

[Rasputin]

Iran: Arrests of women may be an attempt to prevent International Women's Day calls for equality
Amnesty International today called for the immediate and unconditional release of over 30 women activists who were arrested on Sunday, 4 March while staging a peaceful demonstration in Tehran. The organization believes the arrests may be intended to deter activists from organizing events to mark International Women's Day on 8 March.

The women were arrested outside Tehran's Revolutionary Court, where they had gathered to protest at the trial of five women charged in connection with a demonstration held on 12 June 2006 to demand that women be given equal rights with men under the law in Iran. The June demonstration was violently dispersed by security forces, who arrested at least 70 people.

"Rather than arresting peaceful demonstrators, the Iranian authorities should be taking seriously women's demands for equality before the law and addressing discrimination against women wherever it exists in the Iranian legal system," said Irene Khan, Amnesty International's Secretary General. "We worry that the women detained yesterday may be kept in detention until after 8 March, a day on which they were planning to campaign for their internationally recognized right to equality."

Those arrested on Sunday, who included at least four of the five on trial, were taken to the Vozara Department for Social Corruption, a detention centre usually used for people accused of minor crimes, such as violations of the dress code. Family members of those detained are said to have gone to the Vozara Building in an attempt to gain access and secure the release of their relatives, without success. According to reports, all the women were later transferred to Section 209 of Evin Prison, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence and is outside the control of Iran's prison service.

Background
Those arrested in the 12 June 2006 demonstration include Fariba Davoodi Mohajer, Shahla Entesari, Noushin Ahmadi Khorassani, Parvin Ardalan and Sussan Tahmasebi. All had been summoned to appear before Branch 6 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on charges of "propaganda against the system", "acting against national security" and "participating in an illegal demonstration".

Others have also been charged in connection with the 12 June demonstration, but have not yet been summoned to court. Another, Zhila Bani Ya'qoub, a journalist who was among those arrested on 4 March, was tried and acquitted in January 2007 on a charge of participating in an illegal demonstration relating to the 12 June demonstration.

In August 2006, Iranian women's rights activists launched a "Campaign for Equality", aimed at collecting a million signatures from Iranians in support of changes to the law to end legalised discrimination against women. The campaign's website has been filtered by the Iranian authorities on several occasions in recent weeks, making it difficult for people in Iran to access information about the campaign. Amnesty International is supporting this campaign and will issue a joint statement calling for equal rights for women in Iran on International Women's Day with Iranian lawyer and prominent human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Emergency Summit to Prevent
War with Iran

Saturday, March 10, 2007

UC Berkeley Campus

10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.

http://www.handsoffiran.org/

[Rasputin]

Press Release
Campaign to Free Women's Rights Defenders in Iran

Women’s Rights Defenders Now in Solitary Confinement
Deemed A Threat To Iran’s National Security

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2007

Shadi Sadr and Mahboubeh Abasgholizadeh have been arraigned, charged with being a “threat to national security,” and remanded on March 11 by Evin Ward 209 interrogators authorized by the Ministry of Intelligence of Islamic Republic of Iran. Sadr and Abasgholizadeh are the only two women who still remain in custody after their arrest last week. Thirty-one other women were also arrested but have been gradually released on bail (cash or bond). Sadr is a lawyer and women’s rights defender and was arrested while performing her duty defending the women activists on March 4th.

Based on the Criminal Procedure Laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, at any point in the investigation, the interrogator is authorized to issue a remand and extend the temporary detention until the date of the trial. If not in agreement, the prosecutor has the power to appeal the interrogator’s remand to the court system. If the prosecutor does agree with the order of detention – which is often the case – it is very difficult and almost impossible for the prisoners to appeal the collective decision of the prosecutor and the interrogator. As such both Sadr and Abasgholizadeh continue to be in detention since their arrest on March 4th, 2007 without any likely prospect of being released.

Throughout their detention, Sadr and Abasgholizadeh have been interrogated in the absence of their lawyers (Mohammad Mostafaei, Farideh Gheirat, and Elham Fahimi) and were denied the right to speak with them. Furthermore, the detainees are unaware that the interrogator and the prosecutor have refused to speak with their lawyers. In the face of such confusion and the absence of any legal representation, the detainees themselves have been unable to ask for a court hearing.

Abasgholizadeh has been held incommunicado since her arrest. Sadr has had two short telephone conversations with her husband, the last of which was on Saturday, March 10. Sadr’s husband, Hossein Nilchian, who contacted the Revolutionary Court authorities on March 11, has confirmed this.

The families of the two have been denied all visitation rights and are extremely alarmed, especially considering the women’s medical conditions. According to other women who have recently been released from Evin Ward 209, Sadr and Abasgholizadeh have no access to medical care. Sadr is suffering from chronic stomach ulcer. Abasgholizadeh suffers from arthritis and migraine headaches.

Those recently released described the cells as being damp and very cold. To make matters worse there are no toilets in the cell. As a routine measure, the prisoners are deprived of warmth, since they are given only one blanket and forced to sleep on the cold floor. Mahnaz Mohammadi, who was arrested on March 4th and recently released, is still suffering from pneumonia. Moreover, those in custody have reportedly been interrogated while blindfolded during the night, and thus, have had little if any sleep.

Article 27 of Iran’s Constitution guarantees the citizens’ right to assemble peacefully, which is precisely what the women defenders were doing. However, the interrogator/prosecutor claim that their peaceful gathering was instead a threat to Iran’s national security. As such Sadr and Abasgholizadeh were charged according to Chapter 16, Article 113 of the Islamic Penal Code: “Whenever two or more people gather and plan to commit a crime against the internal or external security of the country or facilitate the implementation of a crime, … then they will be sentenced to two to five years of imprisonment.” http://www.ghavanin****/detail.asp?id=6955

The women’s rights advocates have become one of the main targets of the recently increased violation of human rights and the rising repression on the civil rights in the name of “national security”. Another concern is that certain intelligence authorities seem to be after plotting a “corruption and moral scandal” against some prominent women detainees in order to defame and de-legitimize women’s rights cause in the eyes of the larger public.

Sadr and Abasgholizadeh are prominent activists and women rights defenders who have organized the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign, which aims to abolish stoning as a legal form of punishment for adultery. After exposing two incidents of stoning and identifying 10 more individuals condemned to be stoned, the campaign has successfully saved the lives of three women and one man.

Read more: http://www.stopstoning.org


The Campaign to Free Women Rights Defenders in Iran

The campaign has been launched immediately after the arrest of women activists by a group of transnational activists. For more information about the campaign and the complete list of supporters, please visit the site:

http://www.meydaan.org/English/campaign.aspx?cid=52

Contacts for Updated and Detailed Information:

The Free Women’s Rights Defenders in Iran Campaign coordinators are ready to provide detailed information about the status of women detainees.

The coordinators are able and willing to put reporters and news agencies in touch with the families and lawyers of the women in custody. The campaign coordinators can be contacted by phone or email.


Dr. Soheila Vahdati, soheilavahdati@gmail.com,

Sanam Dolatshahi, sanamdi@gmail.com,

Dr. Homa Hoodfar, homa.hoodfar@gmail.com,

[Rasputin]

انجمن دفاع از زندانيان سياسی و عقيدتی درايران: روز شنبه 17 مارس ،به دعوت انجمن دفاع از زندانيان سياسی و عقيدتی درايران، جلسه ای با شرکت نمايند گان حزب کمونيست فرانسه، ليگ کمونيستهای انقلابي، مسئول بخش ايران عفو بين الملل و رئيس منطقه 11-10 پاريس جمعيت حقوق بشر فرانسه در سالن فياپ در پاريس، با شرکت دهها تن از هموطنان ايرانی و ميهمانان فرانسوی برگزار شد. نمايندگان سازمانهای فرانسوی و بين المللي، هر يک در حيطه فعاليت خود، سخنانی را در حمايت از مبارزات مردم ايران ودفاع از حقوق زندانيان سياسی و عقيدتی در ايران ايراد کردند. نمايندگان عفو بين الملل و حقوق بشر بويژه، ضمن معرفی سازمانهای خود، آخرين اطلاعات مربوط به اوضاع حقوق بشر در ايران را ارائه داده و بر لزوم طرح و دفاع از حقوق بشر و وضعيت زندانيان سياسی در ايران در شرايطی که توجه افکار عمومی عمدتا متوجه بحران هسته ای و تحريکات احمدی نژاد جلب شده است، تاکيد کردند.
نماينده حزب کمونيست نيز در اين زمينه به برگزاری جلسه هلوکاست در ايران اشاره کرده و آنرا محکوم کرد. نماينده ليگ کمونيستهای انقلابی به خصلت سرمايه داری رژيم ايران و اينکه اين رژيم نه تنها يکی از خونين ترين ديکتاتوريهای روی زمين است در همان حال بخشی از تهاجم نئوليبرالی جهانی است که شديدترين فشارها را به کارگران و حقوق بگيران ايران وارد می کند.
نماينده انجمن دفاع از زندانيان سياسی وعقيدتی در ايران نيز ضمن تشکر از حضور اين سازمانها و اهميت نقش آنان در دفاع از زندانيان سياسی و عقيدتي، برلزوم حرکت در جهت سازماندهی شکايات قربانيان رژيم و برگزاری دادگاه بين المللی برای رسيدگی به جنايات رژيم جمهوری اسلامی برعليه بشريت، تاکيد کرد که مورد تاييد نماينده عفو بين الملل نيز قرار گرفت. در پايان به مدت 45 دقيقه به سوال و جواب بين شرکت کنندگان و سخنگويان اختصاص داده شد که به شکلی خلاق و در فضائی صميمانه صورت گرفت و سپس با پايان برنامه، شرکت کنندگان و سخنگويان، ضمن صرف غذای سرد به صحبت های خود ادامه دادند و در آخر نمايندگان سازمانها واحزاب فرانسوی رضايت تام خود از نحوه برگزاری و کيفيت جلسه را به مسولان انجمن دفاع از زندانيان سياسی وعقيدتی وآمادگی خود برای جلسات آتی از اين دست را اعلام کردند.

[Rasputin]

IN AUGUST last year, Iranian women’s rights activists launched a campaign demanding an end to the legal discrimination of women under Iranian law. The campaign, which aims to collect one million signatures to demand changes to the legal system, is a follow-up effort to a peaceful protest that took place on June 12, 2006 in Tehran’s Haft-e Tir Square.

In recent weeks, the state has arrested several activists as part of a crackdown against the campaign. The following statement was signed by over 1000 prominent Iranian journalists, lawyers, writers, social and political activist, student movement activists, bloggers, academics and researchers in response to the arrests.

On Monday April 2, some of the One Million Signatures Campaign members gathered in some of Tehran’s Parks with their families to gather signatures from their compatriots while they were celebrating the thirteenth day of the New Year festival. Attending in public spaces on this special day is an ancient custom that is not forbidden by any law. Gathering signatures, as the most peaceful way to conduct opinion polls of citizens, is not forbidden by any law. It is a custom that has an long record in our country.

But, unfortunately on this day, five of the Campaign’s members who gathered in Tehran Lale Park with their families to celebrate the thirteen day of the New Year festival were arrested and transported to Vozara police station.

On Tuesday April 3, three of the arrested activists, Sara Imanian, Homayun Nami and Saeede Amin, were released by paying collateral to the revolutionary court. Unfortunately, the other two, Nahid Keshavarz and Mahboubeh Hossein-zadeh, were transported to Evin prison.

After 7 months since the beginning of the campaign’s work to change the discriminatory laws, Campaign members have confronted too many violent clashes. There is not any authority in our current laws to arrest the people who gathered the signatures. The arrest process of the security forces and their manner of dealing with the One Million Signatures Campaign activists shows that they are increasing the pressure against all legal and peaceful movements.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, while protesting against the pressures, arrests and unfair and anti-human rights behaviour targeted toward civil society activists, demand the immediate and unconditional release of Nahid Keshavarz and Mahboubeh Hossein-zadeh, as activists of the women’s movement and the One Million Signatures Campaign.

To view the list of names in Farsi, please visit:

http://weforchange.net/spip.php?article536

For more information on One Million Signatures Campaign in Iran, please visit:

http://weforchange.net/english/

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Human rights group Amnesty International has called on Iran to halt the execution of child offenders.

In a new report, it says Iran is the only country to have executed child offenders so far this year.

It lists the names of 71 other child offenders it says are known to be facing the death penalty.

The organisation defines a "child offender" as a person convicted of crimes they committed when they were under the age of 18.

In a report entitled Iran: the Last Executioner of Children, Amnesty says that since 1990, 24 child offenders have been executed in Iran - more than in any other country in the world.

CHILD EXECUTIONS IN IRAN
Two children executed so far this year
71 other child offenders face the death penalty
24 child offenders have been executed in Iran since 1990
Source: Amnesty International

Eleven of these people were still under 18 at the time of their execution, while the others were kept on death row until they reached 18 or were convicted and sentenced after reaching that age, the report says.

"Only three other countries have executed child offenders in the past three years according to information received by Amnesty International," says Drewery Dyke of Amnesty International.

"In three years, Iran has executed more child offenders than all those other countries combined. It's now the case that as of June 2007, Iran is the only country to have executed child offenders, having executed two in 2007."

Unpopular

Amnesty notes Iran denies executing children.

But it says it is calling on the Iranian authorities to halt further executions of child offenders and amend laws so no minors who commit crimes can be sentenced to death.

Amnesty's Drewery Dyke says public opinion in Iran is increasingly opposed to the death penalty for those who commit crimes under the age of 18.

"Iran is isolated in this regard. And it's a tragic isolation, because it does not seem to be what defenders in Iran want, it does not seem to be entirely what a large part of the judiciary wants.

"It's a practice that is increasingly out of step with what Iranians themselves expect from their judicial system."

Amnesty says a draft law proposed by the judiciary in 2001 and still under consideration by the Iranian authorities could pave the way for the abolition of the death sentence for minors - or at least result in a reduction in the number of offences for which child offenders could be sentenced to death.

[Rasputin]

Iran continues to pass death sentences on child offenders

Amnesty International (AI) is calling on the Iranian authorities to take immediate steps to end the shameful practice of executing child offenders (those convicted of crimes committed before the age of 18
According to the report Iran: The last executioner of children, Iran has executed more child offenders than any other country in the world since 1990.

As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran has committed not to execute anyone for an offence committed when they were under the age of 18.

Officials from the Iranian Government and the judiciary have repeatedly stated that Iran does not execute children. However, the facts tell a different story.

The report states that 24 child offenders have been executed in Iran since 1990, 11 of whom were under 18 at the time of their execution. In most cases, the authorities waited until child offenders turned 18 before executing them. It is not clear whether the authorities understand that such executions still violate Iran's international obligation not to execute child offenders under the ICCPR.

AI is aware of 71 child offenders who are currently under sentence of death in Iran. However, the lack of information available on the death penalty in the country means this number may only be a fraction of the total.

Campaigning against the death penalty both inside and outside Iran can make -- and has made -- a difference. In some cases, death sentences have been overturned and the person has been released. In many more, stays of execution have been won.

Campaigns have also prompted the Iranian authorities to publicly comment on cases, initiate reviews of cases, order retrials and even grant pardons or amnesties.

Human rights defenders in Iran stress that international publicity and pressure in support of local efforts can help bring about change in the country. AI believes that campaigning can save lives and will eventually persuade the Iranian authorities to end the illegal execution of child offenders and bring their legal practices into line with their obligations under international law.

AI opposes the death penalty for anyone, regardless of their age and the nature of the crime or the character of the condemned. Every execution is an affront to human rights and an act of premeditated cruelty that denies the right to life as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

AI's report calls for the abolition of the death penalty for child offenders in Iran. The Head of the Judiciary should immediately implement a moratorium on the execution of child offenders until such changes can be made law.

The death sentences of the 71 child offenders documented in AI’s report, and any other child offenders on death row in Iran, must be commuted.

Ending executions of child offenders in Iran, while a major objective in itself, is just one step on the road to total abolition -- but a vitally important step that should be taken without delay.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

As Cheney Pushes Bush to Attack Iran, U.S. and Iranian Activists Call for Peace

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/16/1330225

[Rasputin]

Iran: Execution of child offender imminent

Amnesty International has just learned that 18-year-old Sina Paymard, who was sentenced to death in Iran for a crime committed when he was just 16 years old, may be executed within the next few hours.

"Should this execution be carried out it would be in complete violation of international law," said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "It would also be a morally unjustifiable, abhorrent act carried out by a government against one of its young citizens."

"The Iranian government must take immediate steps to halt this execution."

Sina Paymard, a musician, was nearly executed in September last year for murder. On the gallows, Sina's last request was to play the ney (a Middle Eastern flute) for the last time. The family of the victim was so moved by his playing that they granted him a last minute reprieve. Instead, they asked for 150 million toumans (over $US 160,000) as compensation. Sina's family, however, has not been able to raise the full amount.

Background
Iran continues to have one of the highest rates of executions in the world. Amnesty International has recorded at least 124 executions since the beginning of 2007, suggesting that by the end of this year the total number of executions could exceed the total of 177 executions that Amnesty International recorded in 2006.

Two recent victims of the Iranian authorities' use of the death penalty were child offenders, whose alleged crimes were committed before the age of 18, and a third was a man who was stoned to death. The two child offenders -- Mohammad Mousavi and Sa'id Qanbar Zahi -- were executed in April and May respectively, in direct contravention of international law, which requires that no-one should be executed for crimes committed while under the age of 18.

While Amnesty International recognizes the right of governments to bring to justice those suspected of serious crimes, it opposes the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

For a full account of the Sina Paymard case and Amnesty International's concerns regarding executions of child offenders in Iran, please see:

http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde130592007

Public Document

****************************************

For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in

London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566

Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web:

http://www.amnesty.org

For latest human rights news view http://news.amnesty.org

[Rasputin]

اگر خانوادهء مقتول رضايت نداده باشند، "سينا پايمرد "صبح امروز 27 تير 1386) بايد اعدام شده باشد.

خانوادهء مقتول در مراسم قبلى اجراى اعدام تنها شرط گذشت را دريافت 150 ميليون تومان عنوان كردند. با همين درخواست بود كه اجراى حكم براى فراهم كردن پول متوقف شد.

پدر سينا تا عصر ديروز تنها توانسته بود 75 ميليون تومان پول نقد فراهم كند.

نسرين ستوده، وكيل سينا چندان به پيگيرى پرونده اميدوار نيست و مي*گويد، همه چيز 50، 50 است.

اين*كه رييس قوهء قضاييه چه رايى بدهد و مانع از اجراى حكم شود يا اين*كه خانوادهء مقتول با دريافت 75 ميليون تومان رضايت دهند.

اعدام سينا پايمرد كه در هنگام وقوع جرم، 16 سال داشته مغاير كنوانسيون حقوق كودك است. كنوانسيونى كه ايران سال*هاست به آن پيوسته است.

ستوده همچنين مي*گويد:,براساس بندهاى كنوانسيون حقوق كودك، *افراد زير 18 سالى كه مرتكب قتل مي*شوند نبايد به مجازات اعدام محكوم شوند. بنابراين اجراى اين حكم نقض صريح يك عهدنامهء بين*المللى را نيز به دنبال مي*آورد.,

,تبعات بين*المللى آن براى ايران چه*طور؟,

ستوده مي*گويد:,دوباره موج انتقادات جهانى سرازير مي*شود، چرا كه اگر دولت ايران نمي*خواست در اين زمينه اقدام كند، نبايد اصلا به كنوانسيون مي*پيوست.,

آسيه امينى در اين باره در وبلاگش نوشته است: ,قاضى در پاى چوبهء دار از سينا دربارهء آخرين خواسته*اش پرسيد. سينا كه از كودكى فلوت مي*زد، درخواست كرد كه فلوتش را بياورند. زمان لازم بود و شش اعدامى منتظر برآورده شدن آخرين تقاضاهايشان تا احكام اجرا شود.

ولى قاضى با درخواست سينا موافقت كرد. فلوتش را آوردند و صدايى كه از ناى جان پسر بلند شد، حاضران را دگرگون كرد. او بداهه*نوازى مي*كرد و بعدها حتى به ياد نمي*آورد كه چه نواخته است.

شور نواى ساز سينا به حدى بود كه يكى از خانواده*هاى اولياى دم كه براى اجراى حكم حاضر شده بودند، خون فرزندشان را به قاتلى كه طناب بر گردن داشت بخشيدند و او آزاد شد.

آن*ها از خانوادهء مردى كه به دست سينا به قتل رسيده بود نيز خواستند كه او را ببخشند و آن*ها پذيرفتند به شرطى كه خانوادهء سينا پايمرد بتواند 150 ميليون تومان را براى آن*ها در مهلت مقرر آماده كند.

پدر سينا خانه*اش را فروخت. اما همهء دارايى كه توانست جمع كند 70 ميليون تومان شد. او كه درگير ماجراى پسرش بود،كارش را هم از دست داد. مادر سينا هم پرستارى بيكار است.,

با اين همه سينا صبح امروز 277 تيرماه سال 1386) اعدام شده است، اگر حمايتى از او صورت نگرفته باشد،چه قانونى و چه مالى و اگر كه خانوادهء مقتول رضايت نداده باشند.ستوده همچنين مي*گويد:,از قاضى خواستم تا پروندهء پزشكى سينا يك*بار ديگر بررسى شود كه پذيرفته نشد.سينا به افسردگى دوقطبى كه نوعى جنون محسوب مي*شود، مبتلاست.,

,حالا تا صبح چه مي*كنيد؟,

,اين جمله را شنيده*ايد كه به هر درى خواهم زد.,

اعدام سينا پايمرد در حالى اتفاق خواهد افتاد كه مجازات اعدام در قرقيزستان و تركمنستان لغو شده و برحسب قوانين اين كشورها بيش*ترين مجازات براى مجرمان حبس ابد است.

در ديگر جمهوري*هاى آسياى مركزى هر چند مجازات اعدام لغو نشده ولى اجرا نمي*شود.جايگزينى حبس ابد به جاى مجازات اعدام در اين كشورها با استقبال نهادهاى بين*المللى حقوق بشر مواجه شده در حالى كه بخشى از مردم اين كشورها به اين مساله با ترديد مي*نگرند.

[Rasputin]

Iran halts teenager's execution

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran on Wednesday halted the execution of a teenager who murdered a drug dealer while still a minor, giving his family 10 days to reach a financial settlement with the victim's kin, his lawyer said.

Sina Paymard, 19, who suffers from manic depression, was going to be hanged at dawn on Wednesday for murdering the 32-year-old man in a fight over drugs three years ago.

Paymard's case has drawn international attention not just over his age but also as he won a last-minute stay of execution in 2006 by moving the victim's family to tears with his flute playing seconds before he was due to be hanged.

"(Judiciary chief) Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi halted the execution for 10 days so that we can reach a settlement with the victim's family," Paymard's lawyer Nasrin Sotudeh told AFP.

Sotudeh said the family had now to come up with 1.5 billion rials (161,300 dollars) in blood money -- compensation asked by a victim's family -- in order to save him from the gallows.

"They have raised half the blood money and some people have promised to make up for the rest," Sotudeh said, without specifying who the donors were.

The official blood money, cash paid out in the case of violent death, is set at 350 million rials (37,600 dollars) for a man, and half that for a woman.

Under Iran's Islamic law, anybody who kills another person has to pay compensation to the victim's family who can refuse it and demand the murderer be executed.

The teenager was to be hanged in September 2006, two weeks after he turned 18. But he asked as his last wish to play his Iranian flute (ney) before the executioners put the rope round his neck.

Touched by his playing, the victim's family agreed to demand financial compensation instead of the death penalty -- so long as Paymard could come up with the sum.

Sotudeh said that Paymard also suffered from "bipolar disorder", commonly known as manic depression, and complained that the court did not take his condition into account.

Rights activists have sought to raise the age of legal responsibility in Iran's Islamic law, which deems a boy punishable from the age of 15 and a girl from the age of nine.

The European Union and international human rights groups have been pressuring Iran to stop executing those under age 18, and the UN General Assembly has adopted a non-binding resolution denouncing the practice of executing minors in Iran.

Iran's conservative judiciary maintains that minors are not executed in the Islamic republic, but in some cases murderers have been hanged after reaching the age of 18.

In April, a man identified only as Mohammad was reportedly hanged in the southern city of Shiraz for murdering his friend when he was 16 years old.

A human rights group headed by Iranian Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi said in a recent report that 15 people were sentenced to death in Iran in the past two years for crimes they committed as minors.

Another case that has drawn attention is Delara Darabi, a 20-year-old artist, sentenced to death for murdering a relative during a burglary she and a friend committed at the age of 17 in the northern city of Rasht.

She has been jailed for the past three years for the murder of her father's cousin, which she said to have initially claimed believing she would not be executed as a minor. Her death sentence has yet to be commuted.

Iran has executed at least 118 people so far this year according to an AFP tally based on media reports.

Capital offences in Iran include murder, rape, armed robbery, apostasy, blasphemy, serious drug trafficking, repeated sodomy, adultery or prostitution, treason and espionage.