November 22, 2009
   « Biden's own words may haunt Obama | Blog Home Page | Life's so much easier without democracy. For the rulers anyway. »
Email Friend | Print Article | | Share Share

August 23, 2008

Hanging juveniles in Iran

Ethel C. Fenig
While many in the international community huffed and puffed in righteous indignation when the state of Texas, after years of appeals by the defendant,  executed an illegal alien, in this country for years, found guilty of a brutal murder, Iran continues its mass hanging spree.  Included in the latest group hanging  was

...a 20-year-old man who was sentenced to death for a murder he committed when he was 15, reviving an international debate over its punishment of minors.  (snip) Four others, including two drug smugglers in Tehran and a rapist and a drug smuggler in Isfahan, were also hanged on Tuesday, Iranian news agencies reported.

That brings the number of executions in Iran to more than 190 this year, according to Amnesty International. Last year, Iran executed 317 people, more than any other country except China, the organization says.

On a per capita basis this is much, much higher than the US. 

Although Iran signed two international laws prohibiting the execution of anyone under the age of 18, the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child,

according to Iran's Islamic law, boys are punishable from the age of 15 and girls from the age of 9. Iranian officials say they wait until offenders reach 18 before they carry out death sentences.

This latest mass

hanging brings the number of executions of juvenile offenders in Iran to five this year. Some 36 have been executed since 1990 and 132 are on the death row, the group says.

Even feminists haven't complained about the presumptive Islamic honor that believes females mature earlier than their male counterparts so therefore they should bear responsibility for their actions earlier.

Posted at 10:45 AM | Email | | | Share Share
ATsupport2.jpg