On behalf of the European Union, the EU presidency on Friday urged Iran to halt the execution of Saeed Jazee, Behnoud Shojaee and more than 95 other juvenile offenders on death row. Following a formal protest by the EU on May 4, the head judiciary of Iran postponed the execution of Shojaee, 20, who was 17 years old when he killed another boy in a street brawl in Tehran . The one month postponement order came from the head of the judiciary, Hashemi Shahroudi, seeking a settlement with the victim’s family. Both mediation attempts have failed so far and Behnoud is facing execution in two weeks.
According to prevailing laws in
Iran , victims’ families can either demand the implementation of the death sentence or receive blood money retribution instead.
The other juvenile , Saeed Jazee was convicted of the murder of a 22-year-old man in 2003, when he was 17. Last week Ayatollah Sharudi issued the final authorization to execute Saeed and now he is also hoping for a pardon by the alleged victim’s family.
Following the news Stop Child Executions and Amnesty International issued urgent action calls to stop the execution.
Stop Child Executions Campaign thank the presidency of the European for the immediate response. Additionally SCE president , Nazanin Afshin-Jam has contacted both United Nations and the Canadian government about the pending executions of Saeed Jazee and Behnood Shojaee. The UN has already passed the matter to appropriate mechanisms for necessary actions.
Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the EU on the imminent execution of Behnoud Shojaee and Saeed Jazee
23.05.2008
The EU is deeply concerned by the news of the imminent execution of Behnoud Shojaee and Saeed Jazee, who were convicted and sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were minors.
The EU notes that these juvenile death sentences are in direct contravention of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s international obligations and commitments, as explicitly set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, both clearly prohibiting the execution of minors or people who have been convicted of crimes committed when they were minors.
The EU urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to comply with International Law and to immediately halt the execution of Mr Shojaee and Mr Jazee and of all other juvenile offenders on the death row, taking in consideration alternative sentences for juvenile offenders.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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