The Islamic regime of Iran’s head of judiciary has succumbed to local and international pressure and announced that child and juvenile executions for those under the age of 18 will end. The demand to end child executions was most recently raised during Children’s Day in Iran at numerous meetings and rallies.

This is a huge step forward for all of those who have campaigned for an end to child executions, and particularly for the families of those languishing on death row.

We need, however, to keep the pressure on in order to end executions in Iran (the execution capital of the world) and everywhere.

As the late Mansoor Hekmat said: “That a state or ruling political force is responsible does not make the slightest difference to the fact that we are dealing with intentional murder. Capital punishment is the most deplorable and appalling form of intentional murder since a political authority, publicly, with prior notice, on behalf of society, with the utmost legitimacy and ruthlessness, decides to murder someone, and announces the date and time of the event” (Capital punishment, the most deplorable form of deliberate murder).

Long live the international movement to end the death penalty!