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Saudi Arabia executions disproportionately target foreign nationals | Amnesty Inte...
he government of Saudi Arabia executes an average of more than two people a week. Almost half of them, a disproportionately high number in relation to the local population, according to a new Amnesty International report, are foreign nationals from poor and developing countries.
There was a sharp increase in executions in 2007, with a total of at least 158 people put to death. Amnesty International monitored 39 executions in 2006.
So far this year, Amnesty International has recorded a further 71 executions to the end of August. The organisation said that it fears there could be a new surge of executions in the coming weeks, following the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
“We had hoped that the much-heralded human rights initiatives introduced by the Saudi Arabian authorities in recent years would bring an end to – or, at least, a significant reduction in - the use of the death penalty.
"Yet, in fact, we have witnessed a sharp rise in executions of prisoners sentenced in largely secret and unfair trials, making the need for a moratorium more urgent than ever,” said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.
"The government's continuing high use of the death penalty runs counter to the growing international trend towards abolition. Moreover, the death penalty is carried out disproportionately and discriminately on national or ethnic grounds against poor foreign workers and against Saudi Arabian nationals who lack the family or other connections that, fortunately, help others to be saved from execution."
Defendants, particularly poor foreign migrant workers from developing countries in Africa and Asia, often have no defence lawyer and are unable to follow court proceedings in Arabic. They, and many of the Saudi Arabians who are executed, also have no access to influential figures such as government authorities or heads of tribes, nor to money, both crucial factors in securing a pardon.
"The process by which the death penalty is imposed and carried out is harsh, largely secretive and grossly unfair. Judges, all men, have wide discretion and can hand down death sentences for vaguely-worded and non-violent offences," said Malcolm Smart. "Some migrant workers have even been unaware that they had been sentenced to death until the very morning of their execution."
Execution is usually by beheading, generally in public. In some cases, crucifixion follows execution.
Saudi Arabia is one of the few states in the world with a high rate of executions for women. It is also one of the few remaining countries to execute people for crimes they committed when they were still under the age of 18, in breach of international law.
“It is high time for the Saudi Arabian government to step up to the plate on this issue and respect its obligations under international law," said Malcolm Smart. "As an elected member of the UN's Human Rights Council, the government should move quickly to reverse this ghastly trend and bring Saudi Arabia's legal and judicial practices into conformity with international standards.
"It must ban the death penalty for children, ensure fair trials, address rampant discrimination, and curtail judges’ discretionary powers in the use of this cruel, inhumane, and degrading punishment."
Amnesty International has documented Saudi Arabia’s extensive use of the death penalty for over a quarter of a century. This report is the organization's latest evaluation following the legal, judicial and human rights changes introduced in recent years in Saudi Arabia. The organization has, however, been unsuccessful in seeking a visit to the country to conduct research. he government of Saudi Arabia executes an average of more than two people a week. Almost half of them, a disproportionately high numbe... more -
World Is Moving Towards Banning Death Penalty, says Reprieve
Report says five nations responsible for almost all state executions in past year.
The world is moving closer to the final abolition of the death penalty, according to the latest figures published to coincide with World Day against the Death Penalty today.
Currently, five nations are responsible for almost all the state executions carried out in the past year.
So far, a total of 137 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, while 60 countries retain its use, usually for people convicted of murder.
At least 1,252 people were known to be executed in 24 countries during 2007. Of all the executions in 2007, 88% took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the US.
By the end of the 2007, 91 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes and last year a further three countries (Albania, Cook Islands and Rwanda) joined their number, according to Reprieve, which represents death row prisoners around the world.
"The reality is that, despite the progress that has been made over the last 18 months, there are still thousands of people being executed every year around the world," said Clive Stafford Smith, director of Reprieve.
"I have witnessed the barbarity of this sentence in person, having been present at the execution of four of my clients and can say that one execution is too many. We cannot rest until capital punishment becomes little more than an embarrassing chapter in our history."
In Europe, only Belarus retains capital punishment and abandonment of the death penalty is a prerequisite for joining the EU.
The US is the only country in the Americas to have carried out any executions since 2003 but the 53 executions in 2006 represented the lowest annual total for a decade, and death sentences continue to drop from a peak in the mid-1990s.
China is, by far, the country, that makes most use of the penalty. "Asia leads the way globally as the continent that carries out the most executions," said Amnesty International UK director, Kate Allen.
"The number of executions carried out by China last year makes them the world's number one 'executioner'. This year we have seen a noticeable increase in the use of the death penalty in Japan. Executions in that country are typically shrouded in secrecy. And in Pakistan, there are approximately 7,500 people including children, on death row ... We call on Asia's state leaders to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolish the death penalty."
In some areas with a long tradition of executions, such as central Asia, there is a clear move towards abolition. Recently, Kyrgyzstan abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes, Kazakhstan has had a moratorium on executions since 2003 and Tajikistan has had moratoriums on executions and death sentences since 2004.
In Africa, only six countries carried out executions in 2006. Last year, the the high court in Malawi declared the mandatory death penalty unconstitutional and Rwanda abolished it. Burundi, Gabon and Mali are taking steps towards abolition.
In seven countries the death penalty is applied for consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex: Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and parts of Nigeria.
Iran retains the death penalty for a large number of offences, among them "cursing the Prophet," certain drug offences, murder, adultery, incest, rape, drinking alcohol and sodomy and last year Iran executed at least 317 people, including eight juvenile offenders.
In 2007, Saudi Arabia executed at least 143 people, including children and three women. Since January 2008 the figure has already reached 58.
**Continues Report says five nations responsible for almost all state executions in past year. ... more -
Iran accounts for most juvenile executions
Iran has executed 26 juvenile offenders since the start of 2005, accounting for the vast majority of people under age 18 executed around the world, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
The New York-based group said Iran was one of five countries known to have executed juveniles since January 2005. Saudi Arabia and Sudan each executed two juveniles, and Pakistan and Yemen, one.
"We are only five states away from a complete ban on the juvenile death penalty," said Clarisa Bencomo, Middle East children's rights researcher for Human Rights Watch. "These few holdouts should abandon this barbaric practice so that no one ever again is executed for a crime committed as a child."
The report said in Pakistan, Yemen and Sudan the execution of people under 18 was outlawed, but because birth registration levels were low young offenders can have trouble proving their age and are often treated as adults.
"In Iran and Saudi Arabia ... these sentences are the result of deliberate state policies to retain the juvenile death penalty, combined with criminal justice systems that fail to provide children with fundamental protections against unfair trials," the report said.
It said Iran executed eight juvenile offenders in 2007. So far in 2008, it executed at least six juvenile offenders and more than 130 others are under sentence of death, it said.
"Judges can impose the death penalty in capital cases if the defendant has attained 'majority,' defined in Iranian law as 9 years for girls and 15 years for boys," it said.
In Saudi Arabia, the report said judges have discretion to impose the death penalty on children from puberty or 15 years, whichever comes first. Two juveniles were among at least 158 people executed in 2007 in Saudi Arabia, it said.
"Even states that still execute juvenile offenders acknowledge that such executions are wrong," said Bencomo. "But changes in law and practice need to be faster."
Human Rights Watch called on U.N. member states to ask U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to issue a report on compliance with the international ban on the juvenile death penalty. Iran has executed 26 juvenile offenders since the start of 2005, accounting for the vast majority of people under age 18 executed arou... more -
Death row inmate gives his body to art - to be turned into fish food
Gene Hathorn, a convict on death row in Texas, has agreed to give his body to the Danish-based artist Marco Evaristti, should his final appeal against execution fail.
The artist Evaristti has plans to turn Hathorn’s body into a work of art: “My aim is to first deep freeze Gene’s body and then make fish food out of it. Visitors to my exhibition will be able to feed goldfish with it,” Evaristti told The Art Newspaper.
[more at link] Gene Hathorn, a convict on death row in Texas, has agreed to give his body to the Danish-based artist Marco Evaristti, should his fina... more -
India Woman Burned To Death In Anti Christian Violence; Churches Destroyed
In another forum I was shocked at the Anti-Christian attitude from posters here in America even.
The title above was confirmed 8/28/2008 by BBC News.
In this century more Christians have died for their faith than in the other nearly 2k years combined. Let that sink in.
First of all. These people were only Jesus Freaks in the light that they died for their faith. Most did not own a bible, although that is a cherished and protected item that some, not many house churches have access to. They often share bibles among many. In most of the countries owning a Bible is punishable by death or indefinite imprisonment.
Now think about that for one moment. Death for owning a Bible. We cannot comprehend that here in the United States. This is common especially under "Islamic States" where Islam is the mandatory religion. And is also common in communist and we are seeing other governments doing the same.
These people lived in fear and knowing that death is often the consequence of believing in God and Jesus.
Did they go around making condescending comments? Hell no . Did they quietly worship in secret? Yes.
So before the politically correct brainwashes and blinds you to the plight of even Christians around the world...
Below are examples of stuff that happened THIS WEEK.
(sorry to take up space, but this is continued below.) In another forum I was shocked at the Anti-Christian attitude from posters here in America even. ... more -
Pakistani lawmaker defends honor killings
Tribesmen bury five women alive for wanting to choose their own husbands
updated 10:18 a.m. CT, Sat., Aug. 30, 2008
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A Pakistani lawmaker defended a decision by southwestern tribesmen to bury five women alive because they wanted to choose their own husbands, telling stunned members of Parliament this week to spare him their outrage.
"These are centuries-old traditions and I will continue to defend them," Israr Ullah Zehri, who represents Baluchistan province, said Saturday. "Only those who indulge in immoral acts should be afraid."
The women, three of whom were teenagers, were first shot and then thrown into a ditch.
They were still breathing as their bodies were covered with rocks and mud, according media reports and human rights activists, who said their only "crime" was that they wished to marry men of their own choosing.
Zehri told a packed and flabbergasted Parliament on Friday that Baluch tribal traditions helped stop obscenity and then asked fellow lawmakers not to make a big fuss about it.
Many stood up in protest, saying the executions were "barbaric" and demanding that discussions continue Monday. But a handful said it was an internal matter of the deeply conservative province.
"I was shocked," said lawmaker Nilofar Bakhtiar, who pushed for legislation calling for perpetrators of so-called honor killings to be punished when she served as minister of women's affairs under the last government.
"I feel that we've gone back to the starting point again," she said. "It's really sad for me."
Accounts vary
The incident allegedly occurred one month ago in Baba Kot, a remote village in Jafferabad district, after the women decided to defy tribal elders and arrange marriages in a civil court, according to the Asian Human Rights Commission.
They were said to have been abducted at gunpoint by six men, forced into a vehicle and taken to a remote field, where they were beaten, shot and then buried alive, it said, accusing local authorities of trying to hush up the killings.
One of perpetrators was allegedly related to a top provincial official, it said.
Accounts about the killings have varied, largely because police in the tribal region have been uncooperative. Activists and lawmakers said a more thorough investigation needed to be carried out.
The Asian Human Rights Commission, however, said the two older women may have been related to some of the teenage girls and were apparently murdered because they were sympathetic to their wishes. Tribesmen bury five women alive for wanting to choose their own husbands updated 10:18 a.m. CT, Sat., Aug. 30, 2008 ... more -
Swiss to Witch: Sorry!
A woman beheaded after she was accused of causing a girl to spit pins and convulse was exonerated Wednesday, more than 200 years after she became the last person executed as a witch in Europe.
The decision to clear Anna Goeldi's name came after long debate in the eastern Swiss state of Glarus, and was taken in consultation with the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches.
Goeldi, who was executed in 1782, was a maidservant in the house of prominent burgher Johann Jakob Tschudi. Tschudi, a doctor and magistrate, allegedly had an affair with Goeldi, according to a book published last year by local journalist Walter Hauser. A woman beheaded after she was accused of causing a girl to spit pins and convulse was exonerated Wednesday, more than 200 years after... more -
Stop the Execution of Jeff Wood (scheduled tonight 8/21/08)
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has unanimously denied clemency for Jeff Wood, a man who killed no one. This cannot be tolerated.
Imagine being 14 years old and waiting to learn whether your father is going to live or die. Only you're not in a hospital waiting room, or anticipating dreadful news from a war zone. You are in Texas, and your father is on death row. His life is in the hands of seven people who will sit around a table and, in a deliberate manner, officially decide whether he should, indeed, be strapped to a gurney and injected with lethal chemicals, as planned. On the narrow chance that they decide to grant clemency, it is then up to the governor, a man who has signed off on more executions than any other in the country, to follow through.
This is what Paige Lynn Wood went through all day yesterday, which also happened to be her father's 34th birthday. In the end, her worst fears were realized: On Monday afternoon, the board decided, in a vote of 7-0, to execute her father, Jeff Wood. Wood is scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday night for a murder he did not commit. It's not just that he has a strong innocence claim, or that his state-appointed council was completely incompetent during his capital trial. The fact is, Wood did not kill anyone -- and no one argues that he did. The person who committed the murder for which he is scheduled to die was already executed, six years ago.
The Crime, an Overzealous Prosecutor and a Man Named "Dr. Death"
On New Years Day 1996, 22-year-old Jeff Wood was in on a plot to rob a Texaco convenience store in Kerrville, Texas, along with a man named Daniel Reneau. The store's assistant manager was an accomplice in the robbery: He was going to help Reneau navigate the store. But things didn't go according to plan, and in the early hours of Jan. 2, Reneau shot their friend Kriss Keeran, who was working behind the counter, in the face, killing him instantly.
Wood was startled when he heard the gunshot, but he reportedly helped carry out the subsequent robbery anyway, stealing several thousand dollars. He and Reneau were arrested within 24 hours. They confessed to the crime, and Wood led police to the murder weapon.
While it remains unclear to what extent Wood was supposed to participate in the robbery, what is absolutely undisputed is that Wood had no role in Keeran's murder. According to his attorneys, he was not even aware that Reneau was carrying a gun. After all, the robbery was supposed to be an inside job. As reiterated in the clemency brief filed by Wood’s defense attorneys early this month, "Reneau -- the only person inside the store and who carried a weapon -- alone made the decision to take Keeran's life. Mr. Wood was outside the store in his brother's truck."
Months later, during the trial of Daniel Reneau, there was no ambiguity over who had killed Keeran. According to Jordan Smith of the Austin Chronicle, "the state argued that he was responsible for Keeran's murder and portrayed Wood as little more than a sap, steamrolled by the villainous Reneau."
Renaeu was sentenced to death in March 1997. He was executed in 2002. Following the execution, the Dallas Morning News reported that when "asked on death row last week to identify the shooter, Reneau had a one-word reply: 'Me.'"
Having locked in a death sentence for Reneau, it should have defied logic and legal ethics for prosecutors to change the story to make Wood the real villain. But that's what happened. "At Wood's trial," reports Smith, "prosecutors reversed their strategy, arguing that Wood deserved to die because he'd gotten Reneau to 'do his dirty work.'"
Tell Gov. Rick Perry Not to Execute Jeff Wood.
Jeff Wood's supporters are urging the governor of Texas to grant a 30-day stay of execution. Call or fax the governor today:
Phone: (512) 463-2000
Fax: (512) 463-1849
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Wood's execution is scheduled for tonight (8/21/08) so let's vote this up today with hopes and prayers for justice. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has unanimously denied clemency for Jeff Wood, a man who killed no one. This cannot be tolerate... more -
Nato cools relations with Russia
Nato foreign ministers have said they "cannot continue business as usual" with Russia, and demanded that Moscow pull troops from Georgia immediately.
The declaration followed talks in Brussels about the conflict between Moscow and Tbilisi over Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Some Russian troops have been seen leaving the Georgian town of Gori.
But Georgia's interior ministry dismissed the move as a "show aimed at creating the illusion of a withdrawal".
Russian officials told the BBC that the vehicles and 100 men were heading for the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali and then on to Vladikavkaz in neighbouring North Ossetia - a province of Russia.
See map of the region
However, BBC correspondents on the ground say there are still Russian artillery and troop positions dug in all around Gori, the largest Georgian town close to the South Ossetia border. In addition, there are Russian checkpoints about 35km (22 miles) from the capital, Tbilisi.
Both sides have accused the other of violating an EU-brokered peace plan that was signed by the presidents of Georgia and Russia last week. Nato foreign ministers have said they "cannot continue business as usual" with Russia, and demanded that Moscow pull troops ... more -
Iranian woman sentenced to death again for a crime she denies committing at the ag...
Soghra Najafpour (31) has been sentenced to death by a court in the city of Rasht (by the Caspian sea) for a crime she has allegedly committed at the age of 13, reported the Iranian daily newspaper Etemaad today.
At the age of nine, Soghra Najafpour was sent by her family to work as a servant in a doctor’s home in the northern city of Rasht. Four years later she was accused of the murder of Amir, the eight-year-old son of the family. Soghra Najafpour reportedly confessed to the murder during interrogation; soon afterwards, however, she denied that she was involved.
Under the trial she had said that the real murder was a man who used to sexually abuse her. One day while the man (who according to unconfirmed sources is Amir’s father) was abusing her, Amir entered the room and witnessed the crime. In an attempt to get rid of him, the man pushed the young boy away, and that is how young Amir hit his head to the wall, fell to the ground, and lost consciousness. The boy was then thrown into a well. She also said that she wasn’t physically capable of carrying Amir and throwing him into the well.
The man didn’t confess to Soghra’s version of the story. But based on Soghra’s confession, the judge sentenced her to 100 lashes for immoral acts!
Nevertheless she was sentenced to death, as the judge did not believe her to be innocent. At the age of 17, Soghra Najafpour was taken to be executed, but the victim’s mother requested the authorities to postpone the execution to a later time.
Since Amir’s family didn’t take further steps to carry out Soghra’s death sentence, Soghra was released from jail on bail in October 2007. After reviewing the materials and evidence in Soghra’s case, Judge Teimori, head of Rasht’s criminal court, approved Soghra’s release on a bail corersponding to $6,000.
When Amir’s parents learned of Soghra’s freedom, they once again requested the court to ensure Soghra’s execution.
She was transferred to the jail few weeks later. On 23 October, the human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh who is defending Soghra, submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court calling for a review of the case of Soghra Najafpour. The Supreme Court decided to send the case to another court for reconsideration.
The court has now once again sentenced Soghra Najafpour to death.
If the sentence is approved by the supreme court, the 31 years old Soghra who has spent 19 years in jail will be facing execution for an alleged crime at the age of 13.
Iran has artified UN’s concention for the rights of the child which bans death penalty for the crimes committed at the age of under 18. However more than 150 minor offenders are on the death row in the Iranian prisons and at least 11 minors have been executed since the beginning of 2007. Soghra Najafpour (31) has been sentenced to death by a court in the city of Rasht (by the Caspian sea) for a crime she has allegedly c... more -
Three men are sentenced to 74 lashes and amputation of four fingers of their right...
Three men are sentenced to 74 lashes and amputation of four fingers of the right hand and three years in prison reported the Iranian daily Kargozaaran.
They are convicted of robery and are identified as Safar Ali (35), Ali (39)and Rahmatollah (40).
At the present moment they are being held in a prison in Karaj and waiting for their punishment to be carried out! Three men are sentenced to 74 lashes and amputation of four fingers of the right hand and three years in prison reported the Iranian d... more -
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC CONDEMNS A 13 YEAR OLD GIRL TO STONING
Zhila Izadi, a 13 year old girl from the north-western city of Marivan had been condemned to death by stoning after being found that she had been pregnant from her 15 years-old brother. The independent Iranian online newspaper "Peyke Iran" (www.peykeiran.com) that had first revealed the news last week reported on Saturday 16 October 2004 that the girl has given birth two weeks ago in prison, but the young girl had been separated from her new born baby after the birth. The father, a devout Muslim, informed the authorities about the "disgrace" the young girl had caused the family. While Zhila as been sentenced to stoning, her brother, jailed in Tehran, is to receive only 150 lashes, in accordance with Islamic laws.
In the city of Arak, a woman was sentenced to death by stoning. According to the ruling of the religious judge, her husband and two children were forced to attend the execution. The woman urged her husband to take the children away, but to no avail. A truck full of stones was brought in to be used during the stoning. In the middle of the stoning, although her eyes had been gouged out, the victim was able to escape from the ditch and started running away, but the regime's guards recaptured her and shot her to death.
The penalty for adultery, called the Law of Hodoud is flogging (100 lashes of the whip) for unmarried male and female offenders. Married offenders may be punished by stoning regardless of their gender, but the method laid down for a man involves his burial up to his waist, and for a woman up to her neck. The law provides that if a person who is to be stoned manages to escape, he or she will be allowed to go free. Since it is easier for a man to escape, this discrimination literally becomes a matter of life and death.
The Law of Hodoud provides that the stones should not be so large that a person dies after being hit with two of them, nor so small as to be defined as pebbles, but must cause severe injury. This makes it clear that the purpose of stoning is to inflict grievous pain on the victim, in a process leading to his or her slow death.
Inside Iran, stonings are trumpeted with great fanfare, but when it comes to the international arena, officials brazenly deny their methods. In an interview with Le Figaro on September 10, 1994, Rafsanjani was asked, "Are women accused of adultery stoned in Iran?" He replied: "No, no such thing exists in Iran. This has been fabricated to damage us."
In his April 1998 trip to France and Sweden, Ayatollah Mohajerani, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance and Khatami's government spokesman, who is regarded to be a moderate figure, discussed several matters. His positions openly contradicted what he says in Iran and the actions of the government. When asked about his views about stoning, Mohajerani refrained from making an unequivocal statement of support for this inhuman practice. Upon returning to Iran, however, he said explicitly that he does not oppose stoning but believes that efforts should be made to stop the dissemination of the news of stoning and filming the scenes.
The regime's authorities usually force the victim's family members, including children, to watch the stoning to death of their loved one, and in some instances, when the woman miraculously managed to escape, contrary to the regime's own law, she was recaptured and either stoned again or killed on the spot.
The fact that women can be gruesomely stoned to death for 'moral corruption' when the mullahs are prepared to sign men up for 10 minute pleasure marriages with young girls, courtesy of the theocracy, confirms the male chauvinist basis of the entire system. Zhila Izadi, a 13 year old girl from the north-western city of Marivan had been condemned to death by stoning after being found that s... more -
Eight women and a man face stoning in Iran for adultery
The British daily Guardian wrote an article on eight women and one man facing death by stoning in Iran. It is important to emphasize that this is just the number of those sentenced to stoning that we are aware of.The actual number might be higher.
Guardian: Eight women and a man face stoning in Iran for adultery Robert Tait and Noushin Hoseiny The Guardian, Monday July 21, 2008
Nine people in Iran - eight women and one man - have been sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of adultery in verdicts lawyers blame on a resurgence of hardline Islamic fundamentalism.
The sentences have been imposed in courts across the country despite a supposed moratorium on the punishment, which Iran says is justified under sharia law.
Lawyers say most of the nine have been victims of violence and are mostly too ill-educated to understand the charges against them.
Many of the sentences were handed down after hearings held in private without the presence of witnesses and defence lawyers.
One woman, Kobra Najar, an ethnic Kurd, is said to have been condemned after being forced by her husband into prostitution. After she divorced him, he forced their daughter to sell her body.
Another defendant, Shamame Qorbani, claims she was raped but that the allegation was not investigated.
Details of the sentences were disclosed by Iranian lawyers yesterday in Tehran as they attempted to generate international support for a campaign to force Iran’s government to abolish stoning.
"These women mostly come from the illiterate masses and did not have money or access to a lawyer. Many did not understand Farsi and, of course, all the interrogations were in Farsi," Shadi Sadr, a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer, told the Guardian. "In all of the cases, there has been violence against them, or they have been forced into marriages, or their divorce applications have been refused. In some cases, they couldn’t apply for a divorce due to family pressures."
Two of the cases took place in Tehran while two others are in the largely Arab-speaking city of Ahvaz. Two others are from the mainly Azeri-speaking north of the country.
They came to light after a group of Iranian lawyers embarked on a campaign to halt stoning, which has been condemned by international human rights groups.
The lawyers are calling on Iran’s judiciary chief, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, to issue pardons.
However, Shahroudi’s influence in the current political climate is believed to be limited. Last year, he ordered a stay of execution for a man condemned to be stoned for adultery but local officials carried out the sentence in violation of his orders.
Sadr said the verdicts were a consequence of an atmosphere of political repression and religious fundamentalism, under which MPs feel free introduce ever more draconian legislation. These include proposed laws allowing execution for witchcraft and bodily punishments such as blinding and amputation under a new penal code before parliament.
"It is connected to the general hardline politics," she said. "The more there is fundamentalism in general in our politics, the greater the worry that these verdicts will be carried out. If you have a hardline prosecutor in a remote rural area, he is going to be much more able to put his beliefs into practice in the current atmosphere." The British daily Guardian wrote an article on eight women and one man facing death by stoning in Iran. It is important to emphasize t... more -
2 MEN WERE EXECUTED THIS MORNING FOR OPPOSING THE GOVERNMENT
The civil society activist and journalist, Yaqub Mehrnehad was hanged in the prison of Zahedan (in the Sistan-Baluchestan province) early this morning, reported the state run news agency ISNA.
According to the report Yaqub M., son of Alam khan, was convicted of "Moharebeh" for being member of Jondollah (an armed group fighting against the Iranian authorities in Baluchestan) and sentenced to death. He was hanged in Zahedan prison along with another person identified as Abdolnaser T son of Sohrab, who also was convicted of the same charges.
Iranian authorities use often similar charges against civil and human rights activists.
The death sentence of Yaqub Mehrnehad, which was issued in February 2008, was met with a wave of condemnation and protest from the international organizations.
BACKGROUND:
Yaghoob Mehrnehad sentenced to death by a court in the Southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province in the month of "Dey" (10th month of the year according to the Persian calender; 21-December 2007 to 20 January 2008) . His family who were not present under the trial, were informed about the sentence by the authoritis on February 7. The death sentence was later confirmed officially by the judiciary.
Yaqub Mehrnehad has been the general secretary of the "youth, Voice of justice" association, journalist and head of the daily newspaper Mardomsalary in the Baluchestan province.
This association holds an annual symposium, which discusses the problems people face in the society and confronts the authorities with those questions. Yaghoob Mehrnehad and 5 other members of the society were arrested after the last annual meeting of the Society in April 2007. The other 5 were later released but Yaghoob Mehrnehad is still in the prison. According to a member of his family who had visited him two months ago, there were signs of torture on his head, face and body and he had lost much weight. The civil society activist and journalist, Yaqub Mehrnehad was hanged in the prison of Zahedan (in the Sistan-Baluchestan province) ea... more -
Man Hanged In Iran for "Illegal Sexual Act"
An execution order was carried out in Zahedan against an individual convicted of having an illegal sexual relationship.
According to reports by the public relations desk of the Sistan and Baluchistan provincial prosecutors, Hasan Sadeghpour, son of Mohammad, was convicted by a criminal court and sentenced to death for committing an illegal sexual act. The convict was thus ordered to be hanged. The provincial commission reviewed and denied request to exonerate the convict, and his final order for execution was approved by the Supreme Court. Mr. Sadeghpour was hanged this morning in the courtyard of Zahedan central prison. An execution order was carried out in Zahedan against an individual convicted of having an illegal sexual relationship. ... more -
A 34 years old woman is scheduled to be executed in Tehran on August 13
A 34 years old woman identified as Shabnam is scheduled to be executed on August 13, reported the Iranian daily newspaper Etemaad today. Shabnam is convicted of murdering her husband and has been in prison in 3 years, according to the report. Her death sentence has been approved bu the Supreme court and the execution order has been sent to the prison. According to her family she has been told that she will be executed on August 13. A 34 years old woman identified as Shabnam is scheduled to be executed on August 13, reported the Iranian daily newspaper Etemaad toda... more
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Three men were hanged in Qom on Tuesday July 29
Three men were hanged in the prison of Qom (south of Tehran) early Tuesday July 29, reported the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
Ther were identified as Mehdi (27) Javad (34) and Ali (38) and were convicted of "immoral relationship", murder and drug trafficking according to the report. The report didn’t mention which of the charges each of those executed were convicted of.
Two people were hanged in Isfahan and one in Zahedan on the same day (July 29). Three men were hanged in the prison of Qom (south of Tehran) early Tuesday July 29, reported the official Iranian news agency IRNA. ... more -
A girl was set on fire by her brother and father in Tehran
A girl was set on fire by her own brother and father, and died in Tehran reported the state run news agency Fars.
The girl is identified as Somayeh and was 27 years old.
The incident happened on Thursday July 31 in Nazi abad area of Tehran. According to the eye witness, the victim’s mother run into the street screaming that her husband has set their daughter on fire, said the report.
According to the report police has arrested the girl’s father and brother and is investigating the case further.
According to several reports, the number of honor killings has been increasing in Iran. Human rights defenders and lawyers point at the Iranian law where murder of children by father or father’s father doesn’t count as murder. A girl was set on fire by her own brother and father, and died in Tehran reported the state run news agency Fars. ... more -
Highest number of monthly executions in several years in Iran
According to the analysis by "Iran Human Rights" month of July 2008 had among the highest number of monthly executions in the past several years.
Number of exections:
- At least 71 people were executed in Iran in July 2008. 65 of the executions were announced by the official governmental media, while 6 of the executions were reported by the Human Rights activists in Iran.
Mass executions:
- 29 people were executed in Tehran’s Evin prison on July 27. This is the highest number of executions taken place in a single day in many years.
Execution of minor offenders:
- Two minor offenders identified as Hassan Mozaffari and Rahman Shahidi were executed in Bushehr on July 22. Several human rights organizations, among them "Iran Human rights", in a joint statement condemned the mass hangings of 29 people in Tehran, as well as execution of the two minors in Bushehr on July 22.
Public hangings:
- 10 people were hanged in public (four in Borazjan and 6 in Sabzevar), after several months without public hangings.
Public floggings:
- At least 2 public floggings were reported in the Iranian media. In one of the cases 5 men were flogged 71 times each. In the other case one man was flogged 70 times, but flogging of the other man was halted due to public protests
This report doesn’t include arbitrary arrestations and maltreatment of the prisoners that have taken place in July and that other organizations have reported.
A new list of more than 130 minor offenders on the death row in Iran was published on July 9, along with a joint statement from 20 human rights organizations calling for immediate enforcement of international prohibition on death penalty for juvenile offenders According to the analysis by "Iran Human Rights" month of July 2008 had among the highest number of monthly executions in th... more -
First of the "Texas 7" fugitives executed
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Michael Rodriguez's downfall began with an infatuation.
If he follows through with his plans to be held accountable, it ends Thursday evening in the Texas death chamber.
Rodriguez, 45, a key member of the "Texas 7" — a group of seven fugitives who broke out of a South Texas prison in one of the state's most notorious escapes — has dropped all his appeals and is volunteering for execution for his part in the killing of a Dallas-area police officer almost eight years ago.
"Whatever we do, there's restitution to be made," Rodriguez, 45, told The Associated Press in a recent interview outside death row. "But in this situation, the only thing I can do is be held accountable. and express sincere condolences."
Rodriguez's execution, the eighth this year in the nation's busiest death penalty state, would cap more than two years of efforts he initiated to short-circuit the appeals process and accelerate his punishment. HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Michael Rodriguez's downfall began with an infatuation. ... more
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