In September 2006, three men complained to police in the northwestern
town of Paveh that Mouloudzadeh had raped them seven years earlier. The
police arrested Mouloudzadeh, and then humiliated him by shaving his
head, placing him on a donkey, and parading him around the town.  

 

Iranian laws regarding “crimes of chastity” such as rape require that
the office of the public prosecutor send the case for complete
investigation to the penal court, where the judge may question the
accusers and arrange for examination by a physician.  

 

Saeed Eghbali, Mouloudzadeh’s lawyer, told the Iranian press that the
office of the public prosecutor defied these laws, carried out
investigations on its own, and took the case to court, where the judge
refused to accept the accusers’ retractions.  

 

During court proceedings, Mouloudzadeh claimed that all confessions he
had made about the alleged crimes were false and coerced. The judge
also refused to accept Mouloudzadeh’s statements about being forced to
admit to crimes he had not committed and did not dismiss the case.  

 

Under Iranian law, “crimes of chastity” such as rape are sent directly
to the country’s Supreme Court for final review. On July 19, Iran’s
Supreme Court approved the death sentence, which may be carried out at
any time.  

 

Background  

 

Iran leads the world in executing juvenile offenders – persons under 18
at the time of the crime – and is known to have executed two juvenile
offenders already this year. Syed Mohammad Reza Mousavi Shirazi, 20,
was executed in Adel Abd prison in the city of Shiraz on April 22, 2007
for a murder he was found to have committed when he was 16. Sa`id
Qanbar Zahi was executed in Zahedan on May 27, 2007 for a crime he was
found to have committed when he was 17.  

 

Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all circumstances
because of its cruel and inhumane nature. In particular, in imposing
sentences of death on people for crimes committed before the age of 18,
Iran flouts clear and specific human rights obligations. The
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, both of which Iran has ratified, bar the
imposition of the death penalty for such offenses. These provisions
reflect the reality that children are different from adults. They lack
the experience, judgment, maturity, and restraint of an adult.  

 

Iranian officials claim that legislation pending in parliament since
July 2006 would end executions of juvenile offenders. In fact, the
legislation would only offer the possibility of reduced sentences in a
small minority of cases.

However, the judge relied on ‘elm-e qazi,
the "knowledge of the judge" to determine that penetration had taken
place and that Makwan Moloudzadeh could be sentenced to death. Makwan
Moloudzadeh lodged an appeal on 5 July, which the Supreme Court
rejected on 1 August. Several witnesses have withdrawn their
testimonies and signed notarized written statements to that effect.
During
his trial, Makwan Moloudzadeh reportedly maintained his innocence.
Previously, however, he was reportedly ill-treated during interrogation
and "confessed" during interrogation that he had had a sexual
relationship with a boy in 1999. He is reported to have gone on hunger
strike for 10 days to protest against his ill-treatment in detention.
Following his trial and conviction, on or around 7 October 2006 Makwan
Moloudzadeh was reportedly paraded through the streets of Paveh riding
on a donkey, with his head shaved. People in the street shouted abuse
and threw things at him.


Article
1210(1) of Iran ’s Civil Code sets the ages of 15 lunar years as the
age of criminal responsibility for boys, and nine lunar years for
girls. Makwan Moloudzadeh was reportedly born on 31 March 1986 and, at
the age of 13, was a minor under Iranian law at the time of the alleged
offence. According
to Article 49 of Iran’s Penal Code: “Children, if committing an
offence, are exempted from criminal responsibility. Their correction is
the responsibility of their guardians or, if the court decides, by a
centre for correction of minors.”


Furthermore, in this case the judge used the customary practice of
"judge’s knowledge" to override Article 113 of Iran’s Penal Code which
states, “If a minor has anal sex with another minor, each will receive
up to 74 lashes unless one of them was forced to do so [in which case
he will not be punished].”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

International
law strictly prohibits the use of the death penalty against people
convicted of crimes committed when they were under the age of 18. The
Committee on the Rights of the Child has raised concern about child
offenders' criminal responsibility being determined by judges, using
subjective and arbitrary criteria such as the attainment of puberty, the age of discernment or the personality of the child. As
a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran has
undertaken not to execute child offenders. However, since 1990, Iran
has executed at least 24 child offenders, with a further two reportedly
put to death on 17 October 2007. At least 78 child offenders are on
death row in Iran ; at least 15 Afghan child offenders are reportedly
under sentence of death. For more information about Amnesty International's concerns regarding executions of child offenders in Iran, please see: Iran : The last executioner of children (MDE 13/059/2007, June 2007)
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde130592007


RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:
-
calling on the Head of the Judiciary to urge the Supreme Court to
review the case of Makwan Moloudzadeh who was a child at the time of
his alleged offence under Iran’s Civil and Penal Codes;
- expressing concern that Makwan Moloudzadeh may have faced an unfair trial in which a judge relied on subjective
and arbitrary criteria in contravention to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child and that the appeal appears to have ignored the retraction
of testimony made by witnesses;
- expressing concern that Makwan Moloudzadeh is at risk of execution for a crime committed when he was under 18, and calling on the authorities to halt his execution immediately and commute his death sentence;
-
reminding the authorities that Iran is a state party to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, which prohibit the
use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed
when they were under 18, so executing Makwan Moloudzadeh would be a
violation of international law;
-
urging the authorities to abolish the death penalty for offences
committed by anyone under the age of 18, so as to bring Iran’s domestic
law into line with its obligations under international law;
-
stating that Amnesty International acknowledges the right and
responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of
criminal offences, but opposes the death penalty unconditionally.

APPEALS TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic

His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader

Islamic Republic Street -

Shahid Keshvar Doust Street

Tehran

, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: info@leader.ir

Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building ,

Panzdah-Khordad Square

,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami

Baharestan Square, Tehran

, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: hadadadel@majlis.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency
Director, Kermanshah Central Prison
Kermanshah Central Prison
Street Number 101, Deisel Abad, Kermanshah, Iran
Email: markazi@kermanshaprisons.ir
ahead@kermanshaprisons.ir
Fax: +98 831 826 2049 (difficult to get through, please try three times)
Salutation: Dear Sir
and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 7 December 2007.