Mohammad Reza Sabzi executed in Malayer for offense committed at age 16

Hengaw - Wednesday, May 14, 2025
 
The death sentence of Mohammad Reza Sabzi, a 20-year-old inmate of Lur ethnicity, was carried out at Malayer Central Prison. Sabzi was previously convicted of “premeditated murder” and was only 16 years old at the time of the alleged offense.
 
According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the execution was carried out at dawn on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Sabzi, a resident of Aliabad in Malayer, Hamadan Province, was convicted and sentenced to death for the fatal stabbing of a friend named “Reza” during a physical altercation.
 
Sources close to the case reported that the incident occurred unintentionally during a fight, and despite Sabzi being a minor at the time, the Iranian judiciary handed down a death sentence, which was upheld and enforced four years later.
 
No official announcement regarding the execution had been made by Iranian state media or judiciary-affiliated news outlets.
 
According to statistics compiled by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, at least five juvenile offenders were executed in different cities across Iran in 2024, including Miandoab, Shiraz, Kermanshah, Zahedan, and Yazd. These people were under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes, yet they were sentenced to death and subsequently executed.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by the majority of countries worldwide, explicitly guarantees the fundamental rights of children, including the prohibition of severe and inhumane punishments such as the death penalty for individuals under 18. Despite this, Iran continues to carry out executions of juvenile offenders, violating international human rights standards.