BBC News
Published
image captionIran has received international criticism for its practice of capital punishment
The UN has condemned the execution by Iran of a man for a crime he allegedly committed when he was 16 years old.
Its human rights office said that Mohammad Hassan Rezaiee, aged 30, was put to death on Thursday.
Amnesty International said Rezaiee had been arrested in 2007 over the fatal stabbing of a man. It said he was convicted on a forced confession.
It had warned that carrying out the sentence would represent an abhorrent assault on children s rights . Imposing the death penalty on someone who was a child at the time of the crime is a serious violation of international human rights law, which absolutely prohibits the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by children, it said in a statement earlier this month.
TODAY
December 31, 2020
The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has strongly condemned the execution of a child offender in Iran on Thursday morning.
In a statement, OHCHR said the killing of Mohammad Rezaiee was the fourth confirmed execution of child offenders in Iran in 2020.
It stated that the execution of offenders was a violation of international law and their rights to fair trial.
“Early this morning in Iran, Mohammad Hassan Rezaiee, was executed for an offence he allegedly committed when he was 16 years old.
“This is the fourth confirmed execution of a child offender in Iran in 2020.
“The execution of child offenders is categorically prohibited under international law and Iran is under the obligation to abide by this prohibition.
UN, EU Condemn Iran s Execution Of Young Offender
Mohammad Hassan Rezaiee executed over crime he committed when he was 16. The UN and EU on Thursday condemned Iran s execution of a man for a crime he committed when he was 16, 12 years ago.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet strongly condemns the killing of Mohammad Hassan Rezaiee, a statement from her office said.

 The UN has repeatedly urged Iran to cease the appalling practice of executing child offenders, it added.

 There are deeply troubling allegations that forced confessions extracted through torture were used in the conviction of Mr. Rezaiee, and there are numerous other serious concerns about violations of his fair trial rights, the statement said.
Rezaiee was the fourth confirmed execution of a child offender this year, she said. The spokesperson for the UN human rights office urged “Iranian authorities to halt all executions of child offenders and immediately review their cases”.
“The UN has repeatedly urged Iran to cease the appalling practice of executing child offenders, but we understand that at least 80 child offenders remain on death row,”
Ms Shamdasani said.
Eight inmates from various Iranian prisons were executed between December 19 and 26,
Ms Shamdasani said. At least eight other death row detainees are at risk of “imminent execution”, she said.
Iran’s mission to the UN in New York did not immediately answer a request for comment.
1 shares
The Tourism Ministry says 850,000 tourists visited Israel in 2020 down 81 percent from last year, amid the pandemic.
The Dead Sea shore and hotels on October 18, 2020. (Menachem Lederman/Flash90) I m proud to work at The Times of Israel
I’ll tell you the truth: Life here in Israel isn’t always easy. But it s full of beauty and meaning.
I m proud to work at The Times of Israel alongside colleagues who pour their hearts into their work day in, day out, to capture the complexity of this extraordinary place.
I believe our reporting sets an important tone of honesty and decency that s essential to understand what s really happening in Israel. It takes a lot of time, commitment and hard work from our team to get this right.