By Middle East Affairs
The United Nations called on Iran on Friday to stop its executions of convicts who committed their crimes when they were younger than 18, Reuters reports.
Three people were executed in January for murders committed at 15 or 16, which U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein called a “surge.” He said another 80 juvenile offenders on death row are also in danger of “imminent execution.”
Zeid said in a statement that juvenile offender execution is prohibited under international law, no matter the circumstances. Iran has signed an international treaty which bans executions for underage offenses.
According to Reuters, Iran has yet to respond.
