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Human Rights Commissioner Kofler greatly concerned about impending execution in Iran
Bärbel Kofler, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, issued the following statement today (30 January) on reports according to which the young Iranian Hamid Ahmadi is at imminent risk of execution in Iran:
The news that the execution of young Iranian Hamid Ahmadi could be imminent fills me with the greatest concern.He was only 17 at the time of the crimes of which he stands accused, and there are considerable doubts as to whether his trial was conducted in accordance the principles of the rule of law.
Should Hamid Ahmadi be executed, then this would be an unacceptable violation of international law. Iran has ratified not only the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which prohibit the execution of individuals who were minors at the time of an offence.
I urgently appeal to the Iranian judicial authorities to refrain from carrying out this planned execution. Hamid Ahmadi must be given a fair trial under the rule of law – and without the imposition of the death penalty.
The German Government is opposed to capital punishment whatever the circumstances.
Background information:
Hamid Ahmadi, who is now 25 years old, was sentenced to death in 2009. He is accused of fatally stabbing a youth during a fight between five boys. There are considerable doubts as to whether due process standards were upheld in the proceedings against him. In June 2015, a retrial was instigated due to Iran’s reformed juvenile law. In December 2016, however, Hamid Ahmadi was again sentenced to death.