Exclusive: Iran Executes Juvenile Offender

Iran International has obtained information that a prisoner hanged on Friday for murder in Sabzevar prison was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, arrest, and execution.

Hamidreza Azari was born on August 11, 2006. According to a source close to Azari's family, he was executed at dawn in the northeastern city of Sabzevar and his body has not yet been given to the family.

Iran's Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the judiciary, did not mention the person's identity or age in its report on the execution. However, the outlet made a narrative around the victim’s identity and called him a “martyr” while using his image to emphasize the Islamic Republic's tough policies regarding hijab.

A person under 18 at the time of the alleged crime can't be executed under international death penalty laws. But juveniles are executed in Iran, one of the few countries in the world that do so.

The execution is the second hanging that has been publicly announced in Iran in the last two days.

According to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the number of executions committed by the regime in 2022 increased by over 88 percent from the previous year.

Iran executes more people each year than any other nation except China, according to Amnesty International.