PUBLIC AI
Index: MDE 13/132/2008
04
September 2008
UA 242/08 Death
Penalty
IRAN Bahman
Salimian, now aged 27; juvenile offender
Juvenile offender Bahman Salimian is at imminent risk of being
executed. He was sentenced to qesas (retribution) by Branch 33 of the
Supreme Court for the murder of his grandmother, committed in 1996 when he was
15 years old. His execution
had been scheduled to take place on 28 August 2008 in Esfahan prison, central
Iran. The execution was halted at the last minute by judicial authorities
to allow further
negotiations for the payment of diyeh
("blood money") between
members of his family.
Throughout his trial, Bahman Salimian repeatedly claimed that his
70 year-old grandmother had talked of committing suicide so he killed her to
minimise her suffering. On hearing Bahman Salimian's unusual motive for the
murder the trial judge ordered that Bahman Salimian be psychologically
assessed. Experts concluded that he was suffering from psychological disorder
and accordingly, the judge sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment and the
payment of diyeh (financial compensation) also called ‘blood money’.
Twelve years later the victim’s next of kin appealed the sentence demanding the
death sentence for his crime and Branch 33 of the Supreme Court overturned the
lower court’s verdict and he was sentenced to qesas
(retribution).
Under Iranian law all heirs to a victim of murder must agree on
the implementation of the death sentence. If some do not agree, they must agree
on amounts of compensation to those who do not call for the implementation of
the sentence. If some members do not even wish compensation, those who seek the
death penalty are obliged to pay the share of those who do not wish to be
compensated, so that the total amount of compensation set in the case can be
met.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Since 1990 Iran has
executed at least 37 juvenile offenders, eight of them in 2007 and six in 2008.
The execution of
juvenile offenders is prohibited under international law, as stated in Article
6 (5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and
the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Iran is a state party
to and so has undertaken not to execute anyone for crimes committed when they
were under 18.
In Iran a
convicted murderer has no right to seek pardon or commutation from the state,
in violation of Article 6(4) ICCPR. The family of a murder victim have the
right either to insist on execution, or to pardon the killer and receive
financial compensation.
For more information about
executions of child offenders in Iran, please
see: Iran: The last executioner of
children (MDE 13/059/2007, June 2007), http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde130592007
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:
- expressing
concern that Bahman Salimian is at risk of execution for a crime committed when he was under 18;
- calling on the
authorities to commute his death sentence;
- reminding the authorities that Iran is a
state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which prohibit the use of
the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were
under 18.
APPEALS TO:
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh / Office of the Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur St.,
Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737, Islamic Republic
of Iran
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir
(In subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Director,
Human Rights Headquarters of Iran
His
Excellency Mohammad Javad Larijani
Howzeh
Riassat-e Ghoveh Ghazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur
St, Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhuri, Tehran 1316814737, Iran
Fax:
+98 21 3390 4986 (please
keep trying)
Email: fsharafi@bia-judiciary.ir
(In the subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad Larijani)
int_aff@judiciary.ir
(In the subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad Larijani)
and to diplomatic
representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND
APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending
appeals after 15 October 2008.