12-17-2009 Iran:
Amnesty International on Thursday condemned the execution of a juvenile offender in Iran, which constituted at least the fifth such execution in 2009.
Mosleh Zamani was hanged this morning at Dizel Abad Prison in the western city of Kermanshah, along with four other unidentified prisoners, said the London-based human rights organization.
In 2006, he was sentenced to death for allegedly raping his girlfriend when he was 17.
“Once again, despite domestic and international calls for the Iranian authorities to uphold their international obligations, they have executed someone who was under 18 at the time of his alleged crime,” said Philip Luther, deputy director of the group’s Middle East and North Africa program.
Today’s execution brings the number of alleged juvenile offenders executed in Iran since 1990 to at least 46, according to Amnesty International.
Iran is a signatory to two different international treaties which prohibit the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders.
The Islamic Republic is one of very few countries in the world that still execute juvenile offenders, according to Amnesty International.
“How many more will die before Iran stops this dreadful practice,” said Luther.
According to the rights group, Zamani was convicted of abducting a woman several years older than him, with whom he was allegedly having a relationship, and raping her.
His alleged victim is said to have asked that Zamani’s life be spared, stating that they had consensual sex.
However, the appeals court judge refused to take that into consideration, stating that Zamani should be executed to “set an example” to other young Iranians.
Some 140 juvenile offenders are known to be on death row in Iran. ..Source.. Source: Amnesty International website
December 17, 2009
Rights group condemns execution of juvenile offender in Iran
May 30, 2008
Sixty years of human rights failure – governments must apologize and act now
To read their full report Sixty years of human rights failure – governments must apologize and act now
5-30-2008 Global:
Amnesty International today challenged world leaders to apologize for six decades of human rights failure and re-commit themselves to deliver concrete improvements.
“The human rights flashpoints in Darfur, Zimbabwe, Gaza, Iraq and Myanmar demand immediate action,” said Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, launching AI Report 2008: State of the World’s Human Rights.
“Injustice, inequality and impunity are the hallmarks of our world today. Governments must act now to close the yawning gap between promise and performance.”
Amnesty International’s Report 2008, shows that sixty years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations, people are still tortured or ill-treated in at least 81 countries, face unfair trials in at least 54 countries and are not allowed to speak freely in at least 77 countries.
“2007 was characterised by the impotence of Western governments and the ambivalence or reluctance of emerging powers to tackle some of the world’s worst human rights crises, ranging from entrenched conflicts to growing inequalities which are leaving millions of people behind,” said Ms Khan.
Amnesty International cautioned that the biggest threat to the future of human rights is the absence of a shared vision and collective leadership.
“2008 presents an unprecedented opportunity for new leaders coming to power and countries emerging on the world stage to set a new direction and reject the myopic policies and practices that in recent years have made the world a more dangerous and divided place,” said Ms Khan.
Amnesty International challenged governments to set a new paradigm for collective leadership based on the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“The most powerful must lead by example,” said Ms Khan.
China must live up to the human rights promises it made around the Olympic Games and allow free speech and freedom of the press and end “re-education through labour”.
The USA must close Guantánamo detention camp and secret detention centres, prosecute the detainees under fair trial standards or release them, and unequivocally reject the use of torture and ill-treatment.
Russia must show greater tolerance for political dissent, and none for impunity on human rights abuses in Chechnya.
The EU must investigate the complicity of its member states in “renditions” of terrorist suspects and set the same bar on human rights for its own members as it does for other countries.
Ms Khan warned: “World leaders are in a state of denial but their failure to act has a high cost. As Iraq and Afghanistan show, human rights problems are not isolated tragedies, but are like viruses that can infect and spread rapidly, endangering all of us.”
“Governments today must show the same degree of vision, courage and commitment that led the United Nations to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sixty years ago.”
“There is a growing demand from people for justice, freedom and equality.”
Some of the most striking images of 2007 were of monks in Myanmar, lawyers in Pakistan, and women activists in Iran.
“Restless and angry, people will not be silenced, and leaders ignore them at their own peril,” said Ms Khan. ..News Source.. by Amnesty International
