In his court sessions, he denied committing a crime. However, the lower court refused to accept his claim and ruled against him.
According to rights groups, 140 minors are awaiting the death penalty in Iran. Twenty-four human rights organizations around the world – including NGOs from Egypt, Yemen, Morocco, Turkey, Bahrain and Iran itself – launched an appeal on July 8 to Teheran authorities to suspend the executions and commute the prison sentences. Across the globe, voices have been raised to ban the death penalty for minors once and for all in Iran.
“These executions are contrary to international law which bans capital punishment for minors, however serious their crimes,” said Bernard Boeton of Terre des Hommes during a press conference in Geneva on July 8. “Iran has signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International covenant on civil and political rights. No other reason, whether religious or cultural, can prevail over international treaties.”