Geneva- The UN human rights chief is condemning the execution in Iran of a woman convicted of murdering her husband five years ago when she was 17 years old. The office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Zeinab Sekaanvand Lokran had insisted that she was coerced into confessing to the 2012 murder, beaten by police after her arrest and her claims of being a victim of domestic violence not adequately considered in court.
The UN said Friday that Sekaanvand was executed Tuesday despite the appeals of UN officials.
Bachelet denounced the “sheer injustice” of the case and called on Iran’s government to end its use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders. The U.N. rights office opposes the death penalty in all cases.
Earlier, Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said “The execution of Zeinab Sekaanvand is a sickening demonstration of the Iranian authorities’ disregard for the principles of juvenile justice and international human rights law. Zeinab was just 17 years old at the time of her arrest. Her execution is profoundly unjust and shows the Iranian authorities’ contempt for the right of children to life. The fact that her death sentence followed a grossly unfair trial makes her
execution even more outrageous.”
