Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Promoting tolerance and justice through knowledge and understanding
Flogging

Flogging Before Execution, Javad Saberi UNDERAGE, Karaj, Iran Human Rights Organization, May 4, 2015 - 2013

Iran Human Rights Organization
May 4, 2015
Report

Iran Human Rights Organization

May 4, 2015

Execution/Special

Javad Saberi, First Teenage Offender Executed in 1394

Iran Human Rights Organization, May 4, 2015: Information reaching the Iran Human Rights Organization confirms that young Javad Saberi was executed on April 15, 2015 in Raja’i Shahr Prison; at the time of the crime, he was under 18 years of age.

According to the reports of the Iran Human Rights Organization, on Wednesday, March 25, five prisoners accused of murder were hanged in Raja’i Shahr Prison. One of these prisoners, named Javad Saberi (born in 1990) was suffering from severe mental health problems and before his execution, he had been hospitalized at the Aminabad psychiatric center.

According to information obtained by the Iran Human Rights Organization, Javad Saberi, born on November 6, 1990, was arrested and charged with murder when he was 17 years and 10 months old, on September 25, 2009. He was also charged with possessing 20 centigrams of shisheh (meth) and sentenced to 30 lashes and payment of a fine. Javad Saberi’s flogging sentence was implemented on June 16, 2013.

Javad Saberi is the first teenage offender executed in Iran during 1394. Despite being a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits executions for those who commit crimes while under the age of 18, Iran is the most frequent executor of teenage offenders. According to the yearly execution reports of the Iran Human Rights Organization, during 2014, at least 14 teenage offenders were executed in Iranian prisons.

ABF Note

 

Findings of guilt in the Islamic Republic of Iran's Judicial Proceedings

The Islamic Republic of Iran's criminal justice system regularly falls short of the standards for due process necessary for impartiality, fairness, and efficacy. Suspects are often held incommunicado and not told of the reason for their detainment. Defendants are frequently prohibited from examining the evidence used against them. Defendants are sometimes prohibited from having their lawyers present in court. Additionally, confessions, made under duress or torture, are commonly admitted as proof of guilt. Because Iran's courts regularly disregard principles essential to the proper administration of justice, findings of guilt may not be evaluated with certainty.

Corporal Punishment: the Legal context in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Islamic Republic's criminal code recognizes corporal punishment for a wide range of offenses: consumption of alcohol, theft, adultery, "flouting" of public morals, and mixing of the sexes in public. Judges have the latitude to mete out corporal punishment for those sentenced to death. In such cases, the flogging is carried out before death to maximize the suffering of defendant. Aside from flogging, the Islamic Republic also employs amputations as a punishment for theft. In such cases, the defendant is taken to a hospital and put under anesthesia as his hand or foot is amputated. In some cases the left foot and right hand are cut off, making it difficult for the condemned to walk, even with the assistance of a cane or crutches.

The Islamic Republic's Systematic Violation of its International Obligations under International Law

The use of corporal punishment is contrary to international law and is addressed in several international agreements. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Iran has ratified, states that, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Identical language is also used in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iran is also a party to. The strongest expression of international disapproval is contained in the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). This treaty defines torture as, "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as ... punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed." Although the Islamic Republic of Iran has yet to sign the CAT, the prohibition on torture is now considered jus cogens and, therefore, part of customary international law. Furthermore, even though the norm against corporal punishment is not yet a jus cogens, there is increasing evidence that it is illegal under international human rights law.[1] In Osbourne v. Jamaica, the Committee Against Torture (a body of experts responsible for monitoring compliance with the Convention) held that "corporal punishment constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment contrary to Article 7 of the Convention." The Islamic Republic of Iran's systematic violations of its obligations under international law have been addressed by the UN General Assembly multiple times, most recently in December 2007. In Resolution 62/168, the UN expressed deep concern with Iran's continued flouting of international human rights law, particularly, "confirmed instances of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including flogging and amputations."