17 Year Old Alireza Mullah Soltani Hanged

HRANA News Agency – On Wednesday, September 21, 2011, Alireza Mullah Soltani, born in December 1993, was hanged at 5:30am after the death sentence verdict in retribution for the murder he had committed was read.

According to a report by The Islamic Republic news Agency (IRNA), in retribution for the murder of Ruhollah Dadashi, Alireza Mullah Soltani was sentenced to death by Alborz Province Criminal Court, Branch 1. This verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court, Branch 11 and confirmed by the Head of Judiciary.

The hanging took place in front of thousands of spectators in Poneh Street, 50 yards from where the murder took place.

In recent days, human Rights activists have objected to executing a 17 year old minor and criticized the Islamic Republic of Iran for killing underage criminal offenders. Iran is amongst a small number of countries that executes minors although it is a state signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

The state-run Fars News Agency reported that Alireza Mullah Soltani’s feet slipped twice when he was climbing the stool to face the gallows. He was crying loudly before he was hanged and asking for forgiveness while calling his mother and Shi'a religious figures’ names.

After the execution, Ali Rezwanmanesh, the representative of the Judiciary present at the time of hanging, told news reporters, "According to Sharia, Alireza was not a minor because in Sharia, the lunar calender in which years are shorter is used."