Per capita, Iran executes highest number of children

Iran issues the highest number of death sentences to juveniles in the world, Human Rights Watch reported Wednesday.

According to Clarisa Bencomo, HRW children’s rights researcher, “Iran holds the deplorable distinction of leading the world in juvenile executions, and the authorities should end this practice at once. The Iranian government needs to stop sending children to the gallows and start living up to its international obligations by issuing clear legislation to ban the juvenile death penalty.”

Since 2004, at least 17 juveniles have been executed in Iran. Most recently, 20-year-old Syed Mohammad Reza Mousavi Shirazi was executed in April for an alleged murder that occurred when he was 16. Such acts violate both Iranian obligations to international treaties and Iranian domestic law, which requires a special juvenile court to hear cases involving those under 18.

Iran, Pakistan, Sudan and China are the only countries known to have executed children since 2004. While China executes more children in total numbers, Iran has the highest per capita juvenile execution rate in the world.

The execution of juveniles violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which have been ratified by Iran.

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