EU criticizes Iran regime for execution of juvenile offender

NCRI - The European Union on Wednesday criticized the Iranian regime for carrying out the execution earlier in the week of a young woman for a crime she allegedly committed at the age of 16.

 "Fatemeh Salbehi was executed in Iran, after being sentenced to death for a crime committed in May 2010 when she was 17 years old," the EU's Spokesperson said in a statement.

"Death penalty sentences for crimes committed by persons below the age of eighteen are contrary to Iran’s international obligations under the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child."

"The European Union reiterates its concerns about the high number of executions in Iran, notably for crimes such as drug offences which do not qualify as 'most serious crimes' according to the international human rights law."

Fatemeh Salbehi, 23, had been accused of murdering her 30-year-old 'husband' when she was a teenage schoolgirl.

She was hanged at dawn in Adel-Abad Prison in the city of Shiraz, southern Iran, on Tuesday.

Ms. Salbehi had been forced to marry a man nearly twice her age and said she had never seen the man prior to their marriage.

Ms. Salbehi was believed to have admitted to the murder while under duress in detention. But in the regime's courts she maintained her innocence.

Amnesty International said on February 8, 2011: “Fatemeh Salbehi’s husband, Hamed Sadeghi, said to be an employee of the Public Relations Office of the local judiciary, was found dead in their home in Shiraz in May 2008, when Fatemeh was at school. Fatemeh Salbehi was arrested and interrogated without the presence of a lawyer. Fatemeh Salbehi first “confessed” to murder, but then stated that two others broke into the home she shared with her husband and killed him. Fatemeh Salbehi was convicted of murder by Branch Five of the Fars Criminal Court and sentenced to death. This sentence was later upheld by the Supreme Court.”