Delara Darabi faces imminent execution. Like many sentenced to death in Iran, she was convicted of a crime committed when she was a child. Almost no other country in the world executes juvenile offenders, yet Iran has put 16 of them to death since the beginning of 2007. Iran’s death row continues to house scores of young men and women facing the noose for crimes that took place when they were under 18 years old. These include Abumoslem Sohrabi and Abbas Hosseini, whose executions may also be imminent.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child forbids the death penalty for crimes committed by underage offenders, and the CRC is the most universally accepted human rights treaty there is. (Only Somalia, and the good ole USA have failed to ratify this no-brainer of a human rights instrument; thankfully the US Supreme Court found executing child offenders unconstitutional – by a 5-4 vote – back in 2005). Iran has accepted this treaty, so why is this still happening?
That is the question a strong human rights movement inside Iran is asking, as they seek to end the execution of juvenile offenders. We can support this courageous effort by taking action on behalf of people like Delara Darabi, Abumoslem Sohrabi and Abbas Hosseini.