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Amnesty calls on Iran to halt execution of man arrested as a minor

October 12, 2021 at 11:47 am

An exhibition on human rights violations in Iran in Trafalgar Square on October 10, 2020 in London, England. [Hollie Adams/Getty Images]

Amnesty International yesterday called on Iran to halt the execution of a young man who was sentenced to death for a crime that took place when he was 17 years old, following a grossly unfair trial marred by torture-tainted “confessions”.

“Time is rapidly running out, the Iranian authorities must immediately halt all plans to execute Arman Abdolali on 13 October,” said Diana Eltahawy, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“Use of the death penalty against people who were under 18 at the time the crime was committed is prohibited under international law and constitutes an abhorrent assault on child rights,” she added.

READ: Human rights group condemns Egypt’s new mass death sentences 

According to the rights watchdog, Abdolali was moved to solitary confinement in Raja’i Shahr Prison in Karaj in preparation for his execution tomorrow. It has previously been scheduled for January 2020 and July 2021 but was halted as a result of the international outcry.