UN rights chief condemns execution of Iran juvenile offender

GENEVA – The U.N. 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 U.N. 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 U.N. said Friday that Sekaanvand was executed Tuesday despite the appeals of U.N. 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.