Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
The EditorsFebruary 03, 2016

In the wake of the agreement on limiting its nuclear programs, Iran has been busy trying to present itself as open to the modern world and re-establishing economic and political relations with the West. To that end, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has embarked on a tour of European capitals. He started with Italy and the Vatican, where on Jan. 26 he met with Pope Francis.

But according to a recent report by Amnesty International, Iran’s juvenile justice system reveals another reality. Iran is ranked among the leading countries in the world in executions of juveniles. Though Iran had pledged over 20 years ago to eliminate the practice of applying the death penalty to juveniles under the age of 18, the evidence shows otherwise. In the 10-year period from 2005 to 2015, over 73 juveniles were executed by the state. Since ratifying the 1994 Convention of the Rights of the Child, Iran has claimed that it has “modernized” its juvenile justice system. Cynically, the Iranians claim they do not execute underage juveniles; in practice the state waits until they reach age 21 before doing so. Currently, there are 160 juveniles on death row in Iran.

According to Michael G. Bochenek, senior counsel of the children’s rights division of Human Rights Watch, Iran is a “world leader” in juvenile executions. According to Amnesty International, other countries in this “class” are China, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The United States did not eliminate the death penalty for juveniles until 2005. When will Iran do so?

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV has appointed the French archbishop of Chambéry, Thibault Verny, as the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He succeeds Cardinal Seán O’Malley, 81, the emeritus archbishop of Boston.
Gerard O’ConnellJuly 05, 2025
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025
It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.
The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.