Tag: death row juvenile offender

Suspicious Death of Juvenile Offender in Amol Prison

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News, Prisoners
Abolfazl Shaabani, Amol Prison, Death in prison, death of a prisoner, death row juvenile offender, execution of juvenile offender, juvenile death penalty, juvenile offender, mysterious death, suspicious death

On December 24, imprisoned juvenile offender Abolfazl Shaabani lost his life under suspicious circumstances in Amol Prison. Shaabani was sentenced to death at age 16 for murder, but was able to recompense the victim’s family and was saved from execution.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, there is conflicting information regarding the cause of death. According to an informed source close to his family, he was killed during a quarrel in prison. However, another informed source told HRANA that he died by suicide using pills.

Shaabani was buried the next day.

On February 3, 2014, he was arrested for killing one of his friends in a fight. Thereafter, he was sentenced to death and his execution proceeded twice, sending him to the foot of gallows. Shaaabani was able to recompense the victim’s family and at the time of death, was serving time for convictions other than murder.

Juvenile Offenders Hossein Shahbazi and Arman Abdol Ali at Urgent Risk of Execution as Amnesty International Calls for Suspension of their Sentences

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Children, Executions, Prisoners
Adelabad Prison, Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, Amnesty International, Arman Abdol Ali, Arman Abdolali, Armen Abdol Ali, Death Penalty, death row juvenile offender, Hossein Shahbazi, juvenile death penalty, juvenile death sentence, juvenile offender, juvenile offender iran, Majid Tafreshi

Amnesty International has issued a statement calling on Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary of Iran, to suspend the death sentences of juvenile offenders Hossein Shahbazi and Arman Abdol Ali.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Tasnim, Hossein Shahbazi was arrested on charges of murder in December 2018 when he was less than 18 years old and was sentenced to death a year later by a criminal court in Fars Province. The verdict was approved by the Supreme Court. Shahbazi is being held in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.

Arman Abdol Ali was previously sentenced to death by the Tehran Criminal Court for murder and the sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. The lawyer of the victim’s parents announced that the case of Arman Abdol Ali is being sent to the Judgment Execution Unit of the Tehran Criminal Court.

The death sentence of Arman Abdol Ali, which was originally scheduled to be carried out in January 2017, was stopped after the parents of the victim gave Arman a month to respond to the suspicions in this case.

Arman Abdol Ali has been accused of killing his girlfriend Ghazaleh Shakur in 2013 when he was less than 18 years old.

According to the HRANA annual report for the year 2020, at least 4 juvenile offenders were executed in Iran last year, and 2 other juvenile offenders have been sentenced to death.

Recently, in an interview with Agence France-Presse, Secretary of the state-run High Council for Human Rights, Majid Tafreshi, said that the Islamic Republic executes juvenile offenders “three to four times a year”, and claimed this should not be considered a human rights violation.

Ali Arjangi, a Juvenile Offender on Death Row, Attempted Suicide in Ardabil Prison

Posted on by admin-hr
Children, Executions, Prisoners
Ali Arjangifard, Ali Arjangifard ghujeh Beiglou, ardabil prison, Death row, death row juvenile offender, Death sentence for minor, Fatemi hospital, ghujeh Beiglou, juvenile death penalty, juvenile offender iran, juvenile offenders on death row, prison

On Saturday, June 12, Ali Arjangifard ghujeh Beiglou, a juvenile offender on death row, attempted suicide in Ardabil Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Iran Human Rights (IHR), prison officials transferred him to the nearest hospital in Ardabil after the attempt. Beiglou is currently in critical condition in Fatemi hospital.

An informed source said, “Ali Arjangi attempted suicide by cutting part of his neck veins with the motive of ending his life before the execution.”

Ali Arjangi was arrested at the age of 17 on murder charges and has been held in the youth prison of Ardabil Central Prison since.

He was previously sentenced to death by Branch 3 of the Special Juvenile Court for murder, and the sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. The verdict is said to have been issued following a forensic examination confirming his mental development.

According to the HRANA annual report for the year 2020, at least 4 juvenile offenders were executed in Iran last year, and 2 other juvenile offenders have been sentenced to death.

Supreme Court Upholds “Qassameh” Death Sentence for Juvenile Offender

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Children
Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, Adel Abad Prison of Shiraz, death row juvenile offender, Juvenile Offenders, juvenile offenders in iran, juvenile offenders on death row, Qassameh

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – The Iranian Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for Saleh Shariati, a prisoner in Adel Abad of Shiraz who was convicted of murder as a minor via “Qassameh,” one of Islamic Penal Code’s most tenuous methods of establishing guilt.

In the absence of sufficient evidence, a judge strongly persuaded of the defendant’s guilt can rule for conviction by Qassameh if enough of the victim’s male family members indict the defendant under oath. In Shariati’s case, 57 of the victim’s male family members — none of whom are legally required to have witnessed the crime — sealed his fate with their sworn testimonies.

Authorities reportedly extracted a confession from Shariati under the duress of torture. The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, a US-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting human rights in Iran, recently published audio of a man identified as Shariati speaking on tape. The man’s voice can be heard recalling five years’ worth of forcibly extracted confessions.

“Had I committed a crime, I wouldn’t have stayed at the same address […],” Shariati’s recording continued. “I would have fled… I’ve been in limbo for five years now. Every day they have a different reason. It’s become unbearable. I’m thinking of harming myself [while I still have the chance].”

Initially barred from seeing his detained son, Shariati’s father believed he had been tortured when, visiting him in prison for the first time, he caught sight of suspect wounds on his son’s body.

The alleged murder took place in 2012 when the body of Rasoul Bahramnian was found at the bottom of a well whose entrance was left unsecured. Shariati, then 16, was the last known person to see Bahramian alive and alleged that he had fallen into the well. Authorities zeroed in on him as a murder suspect sixteen months later.

Death Row Juvenile Offender Stages Hunger Strike from Solitary Confinement

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Prisoners
Bahauldin Ghasemzadeh, Death Penalty, death row juvenile offender

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Bahauldin Ghasemzadeh, a juvenile offender sentenced to be executed in Urmia Prison who was physically assaulted and transferred to a solitary cell on September 11th, has started a hunger strike in protest.

An informed source confirmed that Ghasemzadeh was transferred and beaten for complaining about authorities’ neglect of his and his brothers’ medical needs. First Ghasemzadeh was barred from hospital visits for his ulcers and spinal cord damage. Then, when he wanted to provide care to his paralyzed brother Davoud, who is also on death row, authorities told him “no.”

“Ghasemzadeh was regularly visiting and tending to his disabled brother at the prison clinic,” the source added. “Yesterday, the head of the prison informed him that he is not allowed to do so any more.”

On June 12, 2018, HRANA reported on the deplorable conditions of Bahauldin and Davoud Ghasemzadeh, two imprisoned brothers on death row who both suffer from spinal cord damage. The report stated that the brothers had developed infections in their feet secondary to these injuries, exacerbating their physical ailments. When prison authorities refused to send the two for outside medical care, the brothers requested their executions be carried out as soon as possible.

As previously reported by HRANA, the two were supposed to be transferred to another prison on April 1, 2018. However, as of the date of this report, high ranking prison officials have prevented the transfer.

Prisoners at the Central Prison of Urmia continue to suffer from a lack of medical attention due to a shortage of medical personnel on site. As of March 20, 2018, the beginning of the Iranian calendar, the deaths of at least five prisoners have been attributed to inadequate medical help.

Background on Death Row Prisoners Bahauldin and Davoud Ghasemzadeh

A source close to the Ghasemzadeh family told HRANA of the brothers’ backgrounds and history with authorities.

According to the source, Bahauldin was 17 when him and Davoud were arrested on charges of murdering two individuals in a tribal conflict. When the charges were formalized one year later, Bahauldin absconded from court and fled to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Bahauldin’s spine was injured in a severe beating by authorities upon his coerced return to Urmia.

“Security officers arrested his sister, mother, and other brother, transferring them to the Urmia Prison,” the source said. “They told him his family members wouldn’t be released until he came back. When he did one month later, he was physically assaulted and sustained the damage to his backbone and spinal cord.”

Both Davoud and Bahauldin are currently on death row. Davoud, the elder Ghasemzadeh, is now completely paralyzed and is held at the prison clinic full-time. Their other brother Javad was executed in Urmia in 2013 on a separate murder charge.

Prisoners at the Central Prison of Urmia continue to suffer from a lack of medical attention due to a shortage of medical personnel on site. As of March 20, 2018, the beginning of the Iranian calendar, the deaths of at least five prisoners have been attributed to inadequate medical help.

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