URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
3 May 2005
Further Information on UA 87/05 issued 15 April 2005
Fear of imminent execution
IRAN: Abbas Hosseini (m), Afghan national, aged 19
The execution of Abbas Hosseini has been stayed until 8 May
2005. He had been scheduled to be executed on 1 May for a
murder committed when he was 17. If his execution goes ahead,
it will be in breach of treaties that expressly prohibit the use of
the death penalty for crimes committed by those under the age of
18.
According to reports on 30 April, the stay was granted in order
to give the victim's family another opportunity to accept payment
of compensation (diyeh) in return for the commutation of the
death sentence. The family has so far insisted that the death
sentence be carried out.
If the victim's family continue to insist on the death penalty, the
Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, may
still commute the death sentence or pardon Abbas Hosseini.
However, under Article 24 of The Islamic Criminal Code and
Article 110 of Iran's Constitution, the Supreme Leader can only
act if the Head of the Judiciary recommends a commutation or a
pardon.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
As a state party to the International Convention on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC), Iran has undertaken not to execute anyone for
an offence committed when they were under the age of 18.
Nevertheless, 11 child offenders have been executed in Iran
since 1990, and at least 36 children are under sentence of death.
On 20 January 2005 Iman Farokhi was executed for a crime
committed when he was 17 years old. On the same day an
Iranian governmental delegation claimed that Iran does not
execute people under the age of 18, in a declaration to the United
Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The Committee, which monitors states' implementation of the
CRC, urged Iran to immediately stay all executions of people
convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18, and
abolish the use of the death penalty in such cases. The
Committee said that it ''deplored'' the fact that Iran had continued
to carry out such executions even after it ratified the CRC,
including the execution that had taken place that day.
For the last three years, the Iranian authorities have been
considering legislation that would prohibit the use of the death
penalty for offences committed under the age of 18. Rasoul
Mohammadi, a 17-year-old boy who was due to be executed on
16 April at Esfahan prison was granted a stay of execution as a
result of ''ambiguities'' about his age (UA 86/05 issued 14 April 2005 and
re-issued 18 April 2005).
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive
as quickly as possible:
- welcoming the stay of execution granted to Abbas Hosseini;
- urging the Head of Judiciary to recommend to the Supreme
Leader that he pardon or commute the death sentence passed on
Abbas Hosseini, and
- calling on the Supreme Leader to pardon or commute the death
sentence passed on Abbas Hosseini on recommendation of the
Head of the Judiciary;
- reminding the authorities of their commitment to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which
states that ''sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes
committed by persons below eighteen years of age'';
- calling on the Iranian authorities to implement the
recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the
Rights of the Child, which called on Iran in January 2005 to
''immediately suspend the execution of all death penalties
imposed on persons for having committed a crime before the age
of 18, and to abolish the death penalty as a sentence imposed on
persons for having committed crimes before the age of 18, as
required by article 37 of the Convention'';
APPEALS TO: (Please note that email addresses in Iran can
be unreliable. If you receive notification that your message
has not been delivered, please re-send your email. If it fails
again, please use fax numbers or postal addresses to send
your appeal. Letters to the authorities from abroad should
arrive in around four working days.)
Head of the Judiciary:
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
The Judiciary
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected] (mark 'Please forward to
HE Ayatollah Shahroudi')
Salutation: Your Excellency
Leader of the Islamic Republic:
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 21 649 5880 (please mark 'For the attention of
the Office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al
Udhma Khamenei, Qom)
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Your Excellency
Article 90 Commission:
Chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission
Mohammad Reza Faker
Enghlab Eslami Street, Vasal-e Shrazi
Nabsh-e Italia
Research Centre for Majlis-e Shoura-ye Eslami (Parliament)
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 21 896 78 77
Email: [email protected] (mark 'Please forward to Head of
Article 90 Commission)
Salutation: Dear Sir
COPIES TO:
Speaker of Parliament:
Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami (Parliament)
Imam Khomeini Avenue
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 21 646 1746
Iran does not presently have an embassy in this country. Instead,
please send copies to:
Iranian Interests Section
2209 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
Phone: 1 202 965 4990
Fax: 1 202 965 1073
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
3 May 2005
Further Information on UA 99/05 issued 26 April 2005
Imminent execution
YEMEN:
Amina Ali Abdulatif (f) aged 21
Muhammad Ali Said Qaba'il (m), aged 26
The execution of Amina Ali Abdulatif, which was
scheduled to take place on 2 May, has been stayed pending
a review of her case.
The Attorney General in Yemen has reportedly appointed a
''special committee'' to review Amina Ali Abdulatif's case.
One of the aims of the review is to investigate whether
Amina was indeed under 18 when she allegedly committed
the crime. Her execution will be stayed until the committee
submits its findings on the case to the Attorney General,
who will then review her sentence. The Attorney General
can recommend that the President commutes or ratifies her
death sentence.
Amina Ali Abdulatif was sentenced to death when she was
16 years old for the murder of her husband. Her sentence
was in breach of the Yemeni Penal Code, which expressly
prohibits the use of the death penalty against anyone
convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18.
There is no news on the case of Muhammad Ali Said
Qaba'il, who was also sentenced to death for the murder of
Amina Ali Abdulatif's husband.
FURTHER RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send
appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- welcoming the stay of execution granted to Amina Ali
Abdulatif, and the review of her case commissioned by the
Attorney General;
- stressing that the Yemeni Penal Code prohibits the
execution of people convicted of crimes committed when
they were under 18;
- calling on the President to commute the death sentences
passed against Amina Ali Abdulatif and Muhammad Ali
Said Qaba'il;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that the review of
Amina Ali Abdulatif's case includes an investigation into
her rape, allegedly by a prison guard, and to guarantee that
she is treated humanely while she is in prison.
APPEALS TO:
President:
His Excellency General Ali Abdullah Saleh
President of the Republic of Yemen
Sanaa
Republic of Yemen
Fax: 011 967 127 4147
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Interior:
His Excellency Dr Rashid Muhammad al-Alimi
Ministry of Interior
Sanaa
Republic of Yemen
Faxes: 011 967 1 332 511
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Human Rights:
Her Excellency Amat al Aeem al Suswah
Ministry for Human Rights
Sana'a, Republic of Yemen
Faxes: 011 967 1 444 838
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Abdulwahab A. Al-Hajjri
Embassy of the Republic of Yemen
2600 Virginia Ave. NW Suite 705
Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1202 337 2017
Email: [email protected]
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the
Colorado office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm,
Mountain Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals after
June 14, 2005.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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