As 160 under-18s wait on death row in the Islamic Republic,an NGO is raising blood money and public awareness to halt executions of juvenile offendersOn the night of 22 March 2009, 17-year-old Hamid was in his dad’s mini-bus when their neighbour’s son, or Ayyoub,16, got in. Hamid was in the business of selling mobile phones, or Ayyoub had been in dispute with him for days over a cellphone he’d bought from him. As their argument became heated,Hamid grabbed piece of a seat cover and strangled Ayyoub.
Hamid was sentenced to death by hanging. Murder in Iran carries capital punishment even for minors who are incarcerated until the sentence is carried out when they turn 18. The execution can be halted only whether the victim’s family pardons the offender, normally in return for blood money.
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Source: theguardian.com