Iran is facing condemnation from human rights groups as it executed a 17-year-old named Hamidreza Azari for murder in the town of Sabzevar. The incident reignited concerns about the country’s practice of hanging individuals for crimes committed during their minority.
The execution took place on Friday (Nov 24) in a prison located in Sabzevar, Razavi Khorasan province, according to statements from Norway-based Hengaw and Iran Human Rights (IHR) groups.
Azari, the only child in his family, had been working as a scrap worker
Hengaw and IHR, citing official documents, revealed that Azari was 16 years old at the time of the crime and 17 when executed. Both groups said that Iran’s action violated the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which defines a child as anyone under the age of 18.
IHR reported that since 2010 at least 68 minors have been executed in Iran.
IHR Director Mahmood-Amiry Moghaddam pointed out the contradiction in Iran’s laws, noting that while 18 is the minimum age for obtaining a driver’s license, the country’s penal code considers 15 as the age for criminal executions.
The group accused Iranian media of deliberately misrepresenting the age of the executed individual to avoid accountability.
Wave of executions
The execution of Azari is part of a broader trend of increased capital punishment in Iran. Another execution, unrelated to Azari’s case, occurred on Thursday (Nov 23), involving a man in his early 20s connected to protests that erupted in September 2022.
These protests were triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, while in custody for an alleged dress code violation.
(With inputs from agencies)
