THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran has issued major reforms to its penal code that ban death by stoning and forbid the execution of minors.
Local Iranian media reports that the changes were approved by the guardian council, a body tasked with ensuring that the country's judicial laws do not contravene Islamic law.
The legislation now requires only the signature of the president to be enshrined into law.
Prior to the reforms, Iran has the record for executing more juveniles than any other country in the world. A report published human rights group Human Rights Watch earlier this year stated that more than a hundred children are currently on death row. Most are not executed until they turn 18.
Stoning is usually reserved for men and women found guilty of adultery. At least 99 people have been stoned to death in Iran since 1980.
Drewery Dyke, an expert on Iran at Amnesty International, warns that due to quirks of the Iranian legal system, the reforms are not as clear cut as they appear. » | Phoebe Greenwood | Monday, February 13, 2012
