The use of the death penalty for crimes committed by people younger than 18 is prohibited under international human rights law, yet some countries still execute child offenders. Such executions are few compared to the total number of executions in the world. Their significance goes beyond their number and calls into question the commitment of the executing states to respect international law.
Since 1990 Amnesty International has documented 87 executions of child offenders in 9 countries: China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the USA and Yemen. Several of these countries have changed their laws to exclude the practice. Executions of child offenders represent a tiny fraction of the total of executions worldwide recorded by Amnesty International each year. The USA and Iran have each executed more child offenders than the other eight countries combined and Iran has now exceeded the USA’s total since 1990 of 19 child executions.
The first table below gives statistics on executions of child offenders recorded by Amnesty International since 1990. The second table gives case details.
Recorded executions of child offenders since 1990: statistics
Year | Recorded executions of child offenders | Total recorded executions worldwide | Countries carrying out executions of child offenders (numbers of reported executions are shown in parentheses) |
1990 | 2 | 2029 | Iran (1), USA (1) |
1991 | 0 | 2086 | |
1992 | 6 | 1708 | Iran (3), Pakistan (1), Saudi Arabia (1), USA (1) |
1993 | 5 | 1831 | USA (4), Yemen (1) |
1994 | 0 | 2331 | — |
1995 | 1 | 3276 | Iran (1) |
1996 | 0 | 4272 | — |
1997 | 2 | 2607 | Nigeria (1), Pakistan (1) |
1998 | 3 | 2258 | USA (3) |
1999 | 2 | 1813 | Iran (1), USA (1) |
2000 | 6 | 1457 | Congo (Democratic Republic) (1), Iran (1), USA (4) |
2001 | 3 | 3048 | Iran (1), Pakistan (1), USA (1) |
2002 | 3 | 1526 | USA (3) |
2003 | 2 | 1146 | China (1), USA (1) |
2004 | 4 | 3797 | China (1), Iran (3) |
2005 | 10 | 2148 | Iran (8), Sudan (2) |
2006 | 5 | 1591 | Iran (4), Pakistan (1) |
2007 | 14 | 1252 | Iran (11), Saudi Arabia (2), Yemen (1) |
2008 | 8 | 2390 | Iran (8) |
2009 | 7 | 714, excluding China | Iran (5), Saudi Arabia (2) |
2010 | 1 | 527, excluding China | Iran (1) |
2011 | 2 | 676, excluding China | Iran (2) |
2012 | 1 | 682, excluding China | Yemen (1) |
2013 | 1 | Not available | Saudi Arabia (1) |
Recorded executions of child offenders since 1990: case details
Country | Name of prisoner | Age | Date of execution |
China | Zhao Lin | 16 at time of offence | January 2003 |
Gao Pan | 16 or 17 at time of offence | 8 March 2004 | |
Democratic Republic of Congo | Kasongo | 14 at time of execution | 15 January 2000 |
Iran | Kazem Shirafkan | 17 at time of execution | 1990 |
Three juveniles | One aged 16, two aged 17 at time of execution | 29 September 1992 | |
Manuchehr Taherian | 16 at time of execution | November 1995 | |
Ebrahim Qorbanzadeh | 17 at time of execution | 24 October 1999 | |
Jassem Ebrahimi | 17 at time of execution | 14 October 2000 | |
Mehrdad Yousefi | 16 at time of offence | 29 May 2001 | |
Mohammad Mohammadzadeh | 17 at time of offence | 25 January 2004 | |
Salman | 17 at time of offence | 12 May 2004 | |
Atefeh Rajabi Sahaaleh | 16 at time of execution | 15 August 2004 | |
Iman Farrokhi | 17 at time of offence | 19 January 2005 | |
Ali Safarpour Rajabi | 16 or 17 at time of offence | 13 July 2005 | |
Mahmoud Asghari | 15 or 16 at time of offence | 19 July 2005 | |
Ayaz Marhoni | 16 or 17 at time of offence | 19 July 2005 | |
Farshid Farighi | 14 to 16 at time of offences | 1 August 2005 | |
Name unknown | 17 at time of execution | 23 August 2005 | |
Name unknown | 17 at time of offence | 12 September 2005 | |
Rostam Tajik | 16 at time of offence | 10 December 2005 | |
Majid Segound (Sagvand) | 17 at time of execution | 13 May 2006 | |
Sattar | 17 at time of offence | September 2006 | |
Morteza M | 16 at time of offence | 7 November 2006 | |
Naser Batmani | under 18 at time of offence | December 2006 | |
Mohammad Mousawi | 16 at time of offence | 22 April 2007 | |
Sa’id Qanabar Zahi | 17 at time of execution | 27 May 2007 | |
Mohammad Pezhman (Pejman) | Under 18 at time of offence | 29 May 2007 | |
Amir Asgari | Under 18 at time of offence | 10 October 2007 | |
Hossein Gharabaghloo | 16 at time of offence | 17 October 2007 | |
Babak Rahimi | 17 at time of execution | 17 October 2007 | |
Two juveniles | Under 18 at time of offence | October 2007 | |
Mohamad Reza Tork | 16 at time of offence | 15 November 2007 | |
Makwan Moloudzadeh | 13 at time of offence | 4 December 2007 | |
Amir Hoshang Fazlollahzadeh | under 18 at time of offence | 31 December 2007 | |
Javad Shojaee | 16 at time of offence | 26 February 2008 | |
Mohammad Hassanzadeh | 16 or 17 at time of execution | 10 June 2008 | |
Hasan Mozafari | Under 18 at time of offence | 22 July 2008 | |
Rahman Shahidi | Under 18 at time of offence | 22 July 2008 | |
Reza Hejazi | 15 at the time of the offence | 19 August 2008 | |
Behnam Zare | 15 at the time of the offence | 26 August 2008 | |
Gholamreza H | 17 at the time of the offence | 29 October 2008 | |
Ahmad Zare | 17 at the time of the offence | 30 December 2008 | |
Mola Gol Hassan | 17 at the time of the offence | 21 January 2009 | |
Delara Darabi | 17 at the time of the offence | 1 May 2009 | |
Ali Jafari | 17 at the time of the offence | 20 May 2009 | |
Behnoud Shojaee | 17 at the time of the offence | 11 October 2009 | |
Mosleh Zamani | 17 at the time of the offence | 17 December 2009 | |
Mohammad A. | 17 at the time of the offence | 10 July 2010 | |
Two juveniles, A.N. and H.B. | 17 at the time of the offence | 20 April 2011 | |
Ali Reza Molla Soltani | 17 at time of execution | 21 September 2011 | |
Nigeria | Chiebore Onuoha | 15 at time of offence, 17 at time of execution | 31 July 1997 |
Pakistan | One juvenile | 17 at time of execution | 15 November 1992 |
Shamun Masih | 14 at time of offence | 30 September 1997 | |
Ali Sher | 13 at time of offence | 3 November 2001 | |
Mutabar Khan | 16 at time of offence | 13 June 2006 | |
Saudi Arabia | Sadeq Mal-Allah | 17 when sentenced to death | 3 September 1992 |
Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai’I | 15 or 16 at time of offence | 21 July 2007 | |
Moeid bin Hussein Hakami | 16 at time of execution | 17 July 2007 | |
Sultan Bin Sulayman Bin Muslim al-Muwallad | 17 at the time of the offence | 10 May 2009 | |
‘Issa bin Muhammad ‘Umar Muhammad | 17 at the time of the offence | 10 May 2009 | |
Rizana Nafeek | 17 at the time of the offence | 9 Januarry 2013 | |
Sudan | Mohammed Jamal Gesmallah | 16 at time of offence | 31 August 2005 |
Imad Ali Abdullah | 17 at time of offence | 31 August 2005 | |
USA | Dalton Prejean | 17 at time of offence | 18 May 1990 |
Johnny Garrett | 17 at time of offence | 11 February 1992 | |
Curtis Harris | 17 at time of offence | 1 July 1993 | |
Frederick Lashley | 17 at time of offence | 28 July 1993 | |
Christopher Burger | 17 at time of offence | 7 December 1993 | |
Ruben Cantu | 17 at time of offence | 24 August 1993 | |
Joseph John Cannon | 17 at time of offence | 22 April 1998 | |
Robert Anthony Carter | 17 at time of offence | 18 May 1998 | |
Dwayne Allen Wright | 17 at time of offence | 14 October 1998 | |
Sean Sellers | 16 at time of offence | 4 February 1999 | |
Steve Roach | 17 at time of offence | 10 January 2000 | |
Chris Thomas | 17 at time of offence | 13 January 2000 | |
Glen McGinnis | 17 at time of offence | 25 January 2000 | |
Gary Graham | 17 at time of offence | 22 June 2000 | |
Gerald Mitchell | 17 at time of offence | 22 October 2001 | |
Napolean Beazley | 17 at time of offence | 28 May 2002 | |
T.J. Jones | 17 at time of offence | 8 August 2002 | |
Toronto Patterson | 17 at time of offence | 28 August 2002 | |
Scott Allen Hain | 17 at time of offence | 3 April 2003 | |
Yemen | Naseer Munir Nasser al’Kirbi | 13 at time of execution | 21 July 1993 |
Adil Muhammad Saif al-Ma’amari | 16 at time of offence | February 2007 | |
Fuad Ahmed Ali Abdulla | Under 18 at the time of the offence | 21 January 2012 |
Amnesty International