Is Iran the only country that executes child offenders?
During the last decade, the judicial killing of children has all but stopped. Only a handful of countries now threaten to carry out such executions and in 2005 Iran was the only country to do so after it lost its main ‘ally’ on this issue: the United States of America. It was also the first country to execute a child offender in 2006 – and only Pakistan has joined it so far. Amnesty International believe that every country has a duty to bring to justice – through systems of administration of justice that adhere to international standards – those accused of breaking internationally recognizable criminal offenses. Iran, as a state party to the ICCPR, has committed itself to not executing child offenders. Nevertheless, the Iranian government has flouted international practice and international law by carrying out executions of those who were alleged to committed a crime while under the age of 18. As with the example of stoning, the execution of child offenders is a practice which must be
