Iranian man convicted as a child of murder will be executed in the coming hours

An Iranian man is due to be executed early Thursday morning, for a murder he was convicted of as a 15-year-old boy, Amnesty International has said.

The juvenile offender was sentenced to death aged 16 - something contrary to international law - for murder and male rape.

Now, 21-years-old Alireza Tajiki is due to be hanged at Adel Abad prison in Shiraz, southern Iran in a matter of hours. 

Tajiki has already been placed in solitary confinement ahead of the planned execution and his family have been told to make a final visit. 

His lawyer has not yet been informed of his killing, something which is illegal under Iranian law which states that legal representatives should be notified two-days before planned executions are carried out, Amnesty International said.

"This is an utterly shameless act by the Iranian authorities. The Iranian authorities must immediately halt any plans to execute Alireza Tajiki," said Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa deputy director.

"The Iranian authorities are demonstrating once again their callous disregard for children's rights as well as fair trial standards."

At least 89 juvenile offenders are on death row in Iran, making it one of the last countries in the world to execute people for crimes committed when they were aged under-18.

Amnesty International says that not only is this against international law, but the convictions are often dubious.

Tajiki's confession was extracted under torture, he said, which included beatings, floggings and being suspended from his arms and feet. He later retracted his confession.

Tajiki was also put in solitary confinement for 15 days after he was arrested and unable to see his family. Amnesty says he was denied access to a lawyer throughout the investigation process.

He maintains his innocence and insists his conviction was obtained under torture.

Iran is one of the world's most prolific executioners.