"
Time is running out
," warns Amnesty International. Arman Abdolali, a young Iranian sentenced to death since 2015, has just been transferred to Karaj prison, near Tehran, for his execution, which is supposed to take place on October 13. His crime: the alleged murder of his partner, who disappeared when he was only 17 years old. "
Pure allegations,
" says Anne Denis, head of the Abolition of the Death Penalty Commission for the NGO, which denounces an empty file, without evidence, while the body itself has not been found. "
We urge the international community, including the United Nations and the European Union, to intervene very quickly,
" pleaded the NGO Monday in a statement.
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"
The facts date back to 2014, says Amnesty. The young Iranian, then aged 17, is suspected of being involved in the disappearance of his girlfriend. Iranian justice believes that Arman would have committed the murder and made the body disappear, leaving no trace, and with the "
mental maturity
" to understand the nature and consequences of his crime. The Supreme Court confirmed his guilt in 2016, despite complaints from the young man himself claiming to have been isolated for 76 consecutive days, and regularly beaten to “
confess
” his crime. Without any investigation being conducted into these accusations,
Arman's
"
confessions
" are considered "
unequivocal
" by the court. He is sentenced to death.
According to Amnesty, the young man confessed his guilt under the effect of "
torture
", and his conviction results from a "
largely unfair
"
trial
. In January 2020 then July 2021, Arman came close to death, but his execution was postponed at the last
minute
, "
thanks to international mobilization
", underlines Anne Denis. "
We have always drawn attention to the scandal of this case, and we hope that it bears fruit once again
", explains the person in charge within Amnesty. The London-based organization sees as a "
very worrying
"
signal
the transfer of the young man to Raja'i Shahr prison, near Tehran, a probable place of execution.
Adolescents of age at 15, 9 for girls
The case of Arman Abdolali is not isolated.
Currently, “
more than 80 juvenile offenders are waiting on death row
” in Iran, Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said last June.
Several are executed each year: seven in 2018, four in 2019 and two in 2020, making the country one of the “
leaders
” in the execution of minors, according to the GROW think-tank.
A paradox: Iran has ratified two international treaties in this area, the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, both consider the application of the death penalty on minors, that is to say under the age of 18, as a fundamental violation of human rights.
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“
The heart of the problem lies in the difference in the age of majority,
” explains Vincent Lefebvre, co-president of the GROW think-tank.
In Iran, Shiite jurists believe that puberty alone marks the arrival of adulthood.
From 15 years old for boys and 9 years old for girls, the adolescent is considered "
mature
", that is to say fully criminally responsible.
246 executions in 2020
"
The executions are relatively the same from one case to another: an arrest, an interrogation with more than doubtful methods, then the sentence
", explains Vincent Lefebvre, noting that the country applies above all the law of the Sharia.
.
“
In this context, what does Iranian justice mean when it commits to fair and equitable trials?
»Asks Vincent Lefebvre.
"
The trials are taking place in lamentable conditions
", supports Anne Denis.
“
We hit them, some in the genitals.
They are placed in secret detention, without lawyers, without any connection with the outside, the police manhandles them
”, she asserts, affirming to know a“
quantity
”of Iranian minors in the same situation.
In 2020 alone, the country carried out at least 246 executions, according to Amnesty, by hanging or firing squad.
The crimes susceptible to such a sanction can be murder, infringements of the legislation on narcotics, rape, “
armed insurrection against the State
”, “
enmity towards God
” or consumption of alcohol.
