Iran pushes ‘Islamic human rights’ excluding LGBT people

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJsOH3yFyql25cnN0NM7iI6Fr6qe0bEZPfLXjwyWYLPJJOUbVBtYvQitCKTnVV6MAvsqgFVp2ea8tzbcuYy1Hwqn3w3ME5lOU0OncxdVDwIV-i2ooZLLAzczaxnvy_7_utxbTbjAOt0b0/s1600/Mashhad+IRAN+17+May+2016_+06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Not all human rights principles are necessarily universal." border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJsOH3yFyql25cnN0NM7iI6Fr6qe0bEZPfLXjwyWYLPJJOUbVBtYvQitCKTnVV6MAvsqgFVp2ea8tzbcuYy1Hwqn3w3ME5lOU0OncxdVDwIV-i2ooZLLAzczaxnvy_7_utxbTbjAOt0b0/s400/Mashhad+IRAN+17+May+2016_+06.jpg" title="Not all human rights principles are necessarily universal." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Not all human rights principles are necessarily universal."</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Not all human rights principles are necessarily universal." -- Kazem Gharibabadi, International Deputy for the Iranian High Council for Human Rights.</i><br /><br />The Iranian government plans to host an international human rights conference in the city of Qom in August to discuss Islamic Human Rights principles, which will exclude LGBT rights and other issues “that are based on Western cultural standards and lifestyle,” as well as issues that ” are not universally accepted.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The announcement about the upcoming conference was made [June 29] by Mr. Kazem Gharibabadi, the International Deputy for the <a href="http://en.humanrights-iran.ir/default.aspx" target="_blank">Iranian High Council for Human Rights,</a> affiliated with the Iranian Judiciary. During his comments, Mr. Gharibabadi’s was specifically critical of the inclusion of LGBT rights in various human rights treaties:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">“Some countries refuse to acknowledge that the principles of human rights should be, at times, implemented based on the culture and dominant values of each country. For example, these countries consider homosexuality as a human rights issue, which is not accepted by Islamic countries. Those countries pressure others to follow their standards and seek the universality of human rights.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">“Of course, we do not deny the universality of some aspects of human rights, but not everything that those countries want to promote should be considered as a human rights issue. Not all human rights principles are necessarily universal. We need to see if the prevailing culture of each country allows such issues to be seen as a human rights issue or not.”</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his interview with the the official website of the Iranian Parliament, Mr. Gharibabadi clarified that Iran’s ongoing effort to promote the Islamo-centric human rights values is done through research, documentation, and facilitated discourse through a partnership with the Iranian Foreign Ministry. According to Mr. Gharibabadi, “The Council has commissioned several research and publication projects to various academic centers, and is expecting to launch one or two of these reports in multiple languages by March 2017.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to Mr. Gharibabadi, there are currently consultations with other Islamic countries underway on how to use Islamic Human Rights doctrines in interpreting and drafting international human rights documents, so that Islamic human rights principles can become universally acceptable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For more information in Persian, read the <a href="http://www.icana.ir/Fa/News/302389" target="_blank">full text of that story</a> in Icana.ir.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="https://76crimes.com/2016/07/01/iran-pushes-islamic-human-rights-excluding-lgbt-people/" target="_blank">Erasing 76 crimes</a>, Colin Stewart, July 1, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div>

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Iran under pressure to abolish death penalty for drug trafficking

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-Q2lQv_InuPv2PBBP4U7j7OIIIDpbcDT_PJU3XoozTgnNKZta_kmqfxnCdH2oCyR2WpeAhkiMBM4hPKFWH176zsnRo73Z3qO3u7lK1cVnNJn468KRA7L5a47Vai8dz5gdPiRRAbbtAE/s1600/Execution+Iran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Public hanging in Iran" border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-Q2lQv_InuPv2PBBP4U7j7OIIIDpbcDT_PJU3XoozTgnNKZta_kmqfxnCdH2oCyR2WpeAhkiMBM4hPKFWH176zsnRo73Z3qO3u7lK1cVnNJn468KRA7L5a47Vai8dz5gdPiRRAbbtAE/s400/Execution+Iran.jpg" title="Public hanging in Iran" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Several European countries cut off financial contributions to republic's counter-narcotics campaign</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran is under pressure to end its use of death penalty against drug traffickers after facing a serious shortfall in the international funding of the country's counter-narcotics campaign.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An increasing number of European countries have decided to cut off contributions even though the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last year approved a 5-year country partnership programme for Iran that was aimed at providing about $20m (then 14.4m pounds).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The agency's latest annual appeal document, obtained by the human rights group Reprieve, which works for the abolition of death penalty, shows that Tehran has received zero in funding for 2016. The UK has confirmed in writing that it is no longer contributing. Similar indications have come from Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Ireland and Norway.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 senior Iranian officials have recently complained about the lack of international support. Last week, Iran's prosecutor general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, blamed "imperialist" powers for young people's addiction to drugs. In April, the Tehran Times quoted the interior minister as saying that Europeans were uncooperative.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran is a neighbour to Afghanistan, a leading producer and supplier of the world's drugs, and faces big challenges at home with a young population susceptible to a variety of cheap and abundant addictive drugs. Critics, however, say Iran's use of death penalty in this regard has done little, if anything, to address the issue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It is increasingly untenable for abolitionist states to contribute to the funding of law enforcement-led counter-narcotics programmes in Iran due to skyrocketing drug-related executions in Iran," Maya Foa, director of Reprieve's death penalty team, told the Guardian on the sidelines of the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Oslo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran executed nearly 1,000 people last year, of which more than 1/2 were for drug offences. It is difficult to gauge public attitude to executions in Iran but Iranians increasingly favour forgiveness in cases involving murder. The number of Iranian convicts whose lives were saved last year after being pardoned outnumbered those who were known to have been put to death for murder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There has been a considerable drop in the number of executions in Iran since the beginning of this year (around 200 executions) but activists said it was too early to say if that amounted to a change in policy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The UNODC did comment on the cooperation of the Europeans. "The programme received funding in 2015 and there are pledges for 2016 from countries. It would therefore be premature to make any judgment on funding levels for the programme, especially as we are only halfway through the year," said David Dadge, UNODC's spokesperson.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">UNODC's deputy executive director, Aldo Lale-Demoz, recently said: "You'll never be able to control the world drug problem just by investing in law enforcement and repression."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran has hinted that it wants to end drug-related executions. In December, more than 70 MPs introduced a bill to end such executions and officials have since signalled that Iran is pursing the matter. Iran's chief prosecutor said last week that "we are not in favour of death penalty and we don't think it's appropriate".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Madyar Samienejad, an Oslo-based human rights defender, said comments by the Iranian judicial authorities over abolishing the death penalty for drug-related offences appeared to be serious, showing there was a will to tackle the issue. "I think this is the direct result of good campaigning. Executions have contributed to a great degree in how Iran is viewed from the outside world and the Iranian authorities seem to have begun acknowledging this, at least in their words," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Executions in Iran take place at the hands of the hardline judiciary, which acts independently of the moderate administration of Hassan Rouhani. But critics say the government has failed in preventing such executions take place in public and providing enough funding for lawyers defending convicts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Asked by the Guardian, the Norwegian foreign minister, Borge Brende, said last week: "We have been very clear regarding our funding towards the UN, and that we will not be a part of funding Iran's programs which is related to this inhumane practice." The French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, however, said: "The fight against drug trafficking is one thing, the fight against the death penalty is another." He did not say whether France was still contributing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: The Guardian, June 29, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

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Several European countries cut off financial contributions to republic's counter-narcotics campaign Iran is under pressure to end its us...

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Situation of Iran's Minorities Raised at 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEissF39-5EXNYhYELtodU1p-zSiam4wwj8F6a91tqgwx2z8m4rT4TdwEvTLfrH4ogaZquSB3HJ3xbJh1oCDilykT7ctpt_j_QxRdojuJ3PrQYCBsWnG6Jueb4vJpraF9FSgVhQn9bV-M20/s1600/Iran+Public+execution+JAN+4+2016+ph03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Public execution in Iran" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEissF39-5EXNYhYELtodU1p-zSiam4wwj8F6a91tqgwx2z8m4rT4TdwEvTLfrH4ogaZquSB3HJ3xbJh1oCDilykT7ctpt_j_QxRdojuJ3PrQYCBsWnG6Jueb4vJpraF9FSgVhQn9bV-M20/s400/Iran+Public+execution+JAN+4+2016+ph03.jpg" title="Public execution in Iran" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">ECPM (Ensemble contre la peine de mort) convened the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty on 21-23 June 2016 in Oslo, Norway, to discuss ways forward in the abolition of the death penalty. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The event gathered around 1000 participants (ministers, diplomats, parliamentarians, academics, lawyers and members of civil society), among which Ms Monireh Shirani (Balochistan Human Rights Group, Sweden) who presented her view on the state of death penalty among migrants and minorities in Iran. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Baloch, Kurds, Ahwazi Arabs, Azerbaijani Turks and Turkmen are being systematically discriminated against and have less access to legal resources to defend themselves than the rest of the population, which results in minorities being the most threatened by executions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran is currently among the top countries when it comes to the number of executions in the past 5 years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Below is the speech of Ms Monireh Shirani:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ethnic minorities have long suffered discrimination as they have been viewed with suspicion and considered outsiders or foreign conspirators. The Amnesty report for 2015-16 states that "Iran's disadvantaged ethnic groups, Ahwazi Arabs, Azerbaijani Turks, Baluchis, Kurds and Turkmen, continued to report that the state authorities systematically discriminated against them, particularly in employment, housing, access to political office, and the exercise of cultural, civil and political rights."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Executions are part of the state policy in dealing with the ethnic minorities, to punish any cultural or political act. The large-scale executions of political and ideological dissidents have resulted in Iran being in the top countries when it comes to number of executions during the last 5 years. Other reasons are that the ethnic minorities also have less access to the legal resources needed to defend themselves due to a discriminatory system, poverty, marginalization and living in militarized zone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is a clear over representation of the Ahwazi arabs, Baloch and Kurds on the death row and in executions. Iran executed nearly 1000 prisoners last year, the majority of these executions were prisoners' sentence to death for drug-related offenses. Under Iran's current drug laws possession of 30 grams of heroin or cocaine would qualify for the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran views these number as a great victory and defends its acts because they claim that they are in a war on drugs. Some of those who were convicted for drug related offenses were actually political dissidents. In Balochistan entire adult male populations from singled out villages have been executed, the regime fully admit to this and refers to the war on drugs and drug trafficking as crimes which have to be met with mass execution. Some of them were executed without trials others had trials conducted behind closed doors, before biased judges and in absence of legal representations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One can wonder how this is possible on a large scale.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, charges of act on national security and drug related offenses, are among the charges routinely used on ethnic minorities, fall within the jurisdiction of the Revolutionary court which is one for the strictest Judicial bodies.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Revolutionary court consists of essentially closed meetings, the right of defense is ignored. The accused is not informed of his or her right to adequate defense. The right to assistance of interpretation of the proceedings in his or her mother tongue as Farsi is not the mother tongue of the ethnic minorities not given.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The family is prohibited to participate in the deliberations of the case. The courts is by law obliged to inform the accused of the verdict by sending a copy of the decision to his place of residence and from that time there is a 20 day appeal possibility. The Revolutionary court fails to follow its legal obligations and violates the accused's rights, because they don't send a copy, the family is not notified in time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The accused are usually moved to different locations, in different regions as a strategy to isolate the accused. This places a challenge on the prisoner because it makes it hard for the family to visit and give adequate support.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Iran there are thousands of minors in prison, often sentenced to death while underage and executed when coming to age. On the 27th of April Mohammad Sanchouli 22 years old was executed in Balochistan. He was arrested and convicted when he was 17 years old and spent 5 years in prison.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The obstacles confronted by minorities facing the death penalty is on the individual level impossible to tackle. The strategies and the ambiguity of the system is difficult for the individual and his/her family to overcome. Rather than finding reasonable evidence for the commission of a crime, judges generally rely on confessions, which have often been coerced through physical and psychological torture. Iranian television continue to broadcast self-incriminating testimonies of ethnic minority detainees even before their opening trial, undermining their fundamental rights of defendants to be considered innocent until proven guilty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year in Ahwaz 5 prisoners were arrested in April and on in June they were brought in front of state TV by the Ministry of Information to make public confessions. These public confessions are frequent used when lack of evidence. For example in 2012 in Balochistan ten people were arrested for an assassination.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Confessions were broadcast on state TV. Some of them received long sentenced others were sentenced to death. A few years after the security forces arrested another 18 people for the same crime for which the people in 2012 had been tried and convicted for.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of the minority prisoners have been arbitrary arrested. We have cases of security forces raiding homes and arresting people without warrants. In Ahwaz last year more than 75 people were arrested after a demonstration and for months their whereabouts were unknown to their families.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Waging war against God" (Moharebeh) enmity against God is one of the leading charges used by the Iranian regime to justify the inhuman executions of ethnic minorities groups in Iran. Other common charges against minorities sentences to death are charges of corruption on earth (Mofsid fil-arz), drug related offences and acts against national security. Another vulnerable group is religious minorities such as the Bahai who are also usually charged with espionage and acts against national security.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A few weeks ago, the Iranian government executed 5 Kurdish prisoners in the northwestern city of Urmia. They were hung publicly on charges of "conspiring against the Islamic Republic of Iran". They were human rights activists who used to document violations by security forces against civilians in the Kurdish city of Urmia. The regime is quick to state examples by using public hangings to discourage any form of activity in the regions. Many of these hangings take up to 20 minutes, a slow and painful death. The body is often left for a time before removed from the scene.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We the diaspora and the civil society living outside Iran depend on the United Nations as a tool to challenge the ongoing oppression in Iran. The UN's office on drugs and crime, the anti-drug agency has a multi-million dollar funding package, which includes EU money, for Iran's counter narcotics trafficking program. Iran's war on drugs have not resulted in the population being less addicted to drugs but rather resulted in mass executions of ethnic minorities. The international community needs to raise concern over the lack of the administration of justice in this war on drugs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This money should be conditional and the UN should demand that the capital punishment for drug related offense not be used, put pressure on the country to give the accused a fair trial and access to judicial system. The UN should at least demand that the Special rapporteurs be given access to the country as a condition.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The strategy is to continue to work against the death penalty. To work with wide networks of law makers, lawyers, NGO's and activists to create new strategies towards universal abolition of the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other tactics to challenge the status quo is Social media and media. Iran does not expose its execution records, it's quite hard to obtain full court records. Bridging the information gap is key. In Zahedan prison in April 8 men were executed. We still don't know the full identity of five of them. The civil society outside as well as in side Iran plays an important role in creating records and bring the information out. The state TV often dehumanize ethnic minorities in national media, promoting a discourse of uncivilized, barbaric, drug lord and illiterate people living in dangerous areas. People in the central part never see the regions of the minorities and so the only information that they have of us is the state's portrayal. That's why media coverage to is important so that the state narrative can be challenged.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: unpo.org, June 28, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

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ECPM (Ensemble contre la peine de mort) convened the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty on 21-23 June 2016 in Oslo, Norway, to dis...

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Husband of British-Iranian woman detained in Iran criticises Foreign Office

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJc6T5t3T-dItvh9v-cIwAfR2pVWT0qV41rBZprFaq6Y0gKHCill9TyGmYMfJVoHQKQwBaBcoUMWrqJ3sQBl2_J0MmfmSbdDohXs_MhmB2ybkRX9IXjUH-Ddn5i11yEOFuV1Q6ko5KgM0/s1600/London+UK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="London, England" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJc6T5t3T-dItvh9v-cIwAfR2pVWT0qV41rBZprFaq6Y0gKHCill9TyGmYMfJVoHQKQwBaBcoUMWrqJ3sQBl2_J0MmfmSbdDohXs_MhmB2ybkRX9IXjUH-Ddn5i11yEOFuV1Q6ko5KgM0/s400/London+UK.jpg" title="London, England" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The husband of a British-Iranian woman who has been detained without charge in Tehran for 83 days has spoken of his anger over the Foreign Office's handling of the matter, saying he feels "gamed" by officials who value trade above the welfare of British citizens and objected to his going public with the case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Richard Ratcliffe told the Guardian he felt trade relations had been prioritised over the welfare of his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and their 2-year-old daughter Gabriella. "I don't think Nazanin and Gabriella's case, nor any of the others, is a top priority at the moment," he said, referring to 4 other British passport holders he understands are being detained in Iran. "The top priority of the Foreign Office is trade."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation as a project manager, was arrested at Tehran's international airport by members of the country's Revolutionary Guard on 3 April. She had been about to return to the UK from a family visit in her home country. This month the Revolutionary Guard released a statement accusing her of fomenting a "soft overthrow" of the Islamic Republic, which her husband described as "farcical".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 37-year-old charity worker has since been held in solitary confinement under interrogation and refused access to a lawyer. If convicted of espionage charges she could face up to 20 years in prison or the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ratcliffe did not meet Foreign Office officials until after he had made his wife's case public in May, 36 days after her arrest, and then only at his request. "It felt almost like the Foreign Office resented me for going public. I was angry, and I felt gamed," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We would have a series of calls and there would be a sort of strange dynamic where occasionally it felt like they were almost trying to get me on record as having said how helpful [they had been]. It's like dealing with a fucking insurance company trying to get out of paying a claim. This is a really odd definition of support, isn't it? It is a really odd dynamic to be covering your arse that early on."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ratcliffe describes the government's position as: "'This is a delicate matter, we'll hope the Iranians will be nice.' It's like, delicate? I mean, if this was your wife? They can use political capital to force the situation. But there has been no public statement of criticism by a senior politician, and the Iranians notice that."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zaghari-Ratcliffe is 1 of 3 female dual-citizenship foreign nationals to have been detained by the Revolutionary Guard in the past 3 months. But whereas since March the US state department website has warned dual-passport holders not to visit Iran, the Foreign Office website does not.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gabriella's British passport was confiscated by the Iranian authorities, and she is being looked after by her grandparents. Under Iranian law only her father or mother can bring her home. Zaghari-Ratcliffe is being detained 620 miles from her daughter in Kerman prison.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have been supporting Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family since we were first made aware of her arrest. Minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, has met personally with the family to reassure them that we will continue to do all we can on this case."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The matter is understood to have been raised with Iranian officials, including by the foreign secretary with the Iranian foreign minister.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: The Guardian, June 25, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

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The husband of a British-Iranian woman who has been detained without charge in Tehran for 83 days has spoken of his anger over the Foreign O...

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UN drugs agency ignores global drug execution crisis in annual report

<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNTBVxbiAKcrGPTLJtEzMWAAIsQNe1FZdjNefSnvhPYhhrx1YHh_pAcZvfctSi67NtW7UwBpvkjAxXDVnjVNC5H6yxAHhYGNqizqCm5VJXsIBQMAFZpstkaOVkFrb_06aiWF0AQUw0QaQ/s1600/UN+building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="UN Building, NYC" border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNTBVxbiAKcrGPTLJtEzMWAAIsQNe1FZdjNefSnvhPYhhrx1YHh_pAcZvfctSi67NtW7UwBpvkjAxXDVnjVNC5H6yxAHhYGNqizqCm5VJXsIBQMAFZpstkaOVkFrb_06aiWF0AQUw0QaQ/s400/UN+building.jpg" title="UN Building, NYC" width="400" /></a></div>A new report by the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime fails to mention the use of the death penalty for drug crimes, despite a surge in executions of alleged drug offenders in countries where the UN agency funds counter-narcotics police.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">UNODC unveiled its 2016 World Drug Report today (23 June) and warned that the number of drug users has risen worldwide. However, the 174-page document included no reference to the increased number of death sentences and executions in countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While the UNODC’s report lamented the number of deaths from drugs overdoses, it made no reference to the 638 alleged drug offenders who were hanged in Iran last year, up from 367 in 2014.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">UNODC recently announced a new $20m funding deal for Iranian drug operations, which will support law enforcement training and equipment that has previously been linked to arrests and executions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier this year 56 countries, including all 28 EU member states, signed a statement condemning the failure of a UNODC-administered summit to address the death penalty for drug crimes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The statement also appeared to warn the UNODC over its human rights record, noting the need to “prevent criminal justice or other forms of international assistance resulting in a death sentence being applied, and to hold international agencies to account for compliance with this and all other human rights obligations.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Commenting, Maya Foa, Director of Reprieve’s Death Penalty Team, said:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The UN’s World Drug Report completely ignores the global resurgence in the death penalty for drug crimes, which has seen states like Iran and Saudi Arabia execute hundreds of alleged drug offenders.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“This seems all too convenient an omission given that the body which authored the report, the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime, continues to fund Iranian and Pakistani drug raids which routinely send drug mules to death row.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Instead of whitewashing the world’s drug executions crisis, UNODC should face up to its human rights responsibilities, and freeze its support for drug police in countries which apply the death penalty for narcotics offences.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The UNODC report is available <a href="http://www.unodc.org/doc/wdr2016/WORLD_DRUG_REPORT_2016_web.pdf">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Reprieve, June 23, 2016<br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div>

Drug trafficking Iran Pakistan Saudi Arabia United Nations UNODC UN drugs agency ignores global drug execution crisis in annual report

A new report by the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime fails to mention the use of the death penalty for drug crimes, despite a surge in executi...

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Call to halt execution of 2 prisoners in western Iran

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJFoBhJBCnjlJggAJaEwi0g_EVoaD3uPjVyXjG03UlN_Y5Tzr6bk81E82MKmX_enemTO_TGOkqQrJDxPSwYfz_wX1ktuI1MUVTRNbHj4KfxlbvzHuCksSUupsU5DcQClzfNFROt7xKKo/s1600/Khomeini+shahr_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Watching a public execution in Iran (file photo)" border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJFoBhJBCnjlJggAJaEwi0g_EVoaD3uPjVyXjG03UlN_Y5Tzr6bk81E82MKmX_enemTO_TGOkqQrJDxPSwYfz_wX1ktuI1MUVTRNbHj4KfxlbvzHuCksSUupsU5DcQClzfNFROt7xKKo/s400/Khomeini+shahr_1.jpg" title="Watching a public execution in Iran (file photo)" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching a public execution in Iran (file photo)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">On Wednesday, June 22, coinciding with a visit by the Iranian regime's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to France and the Netherlands, and simultaneous with the global conference against the death penalty with the participation of more than 90 countries in Oslo, officials of the mullahs' regime in Iran have sent 2 prisoners by the names of Farzad Bizhani and Farhad Souri in Sanandaj Prison (western Iran) to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On this very day the criminal public prosecutor in the city of Mashhad (northeastern Iran) requested hand amputation verdicts for 3 prisoners accused of robbery (state Tabnak website - June 22).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Continuous executions, torture and floggings even during the holy month of Ramadan, considered amongst Muslims in Iran and all Islamic countries as a month of tolerance, kindness and benevolence, brings an end to the myth of moderation within the religious, fascist regime ruling Iran that cannot even temporary halt these crimes for a few days to merely save face.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Iranian Resistance calls for measures to save the lives of the 2 prisoners on the brink of execution and to prevent a verdict and implementation of hand amputation for the three inmates in Mashhad Prison. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Iranian Resistance also calls on all international humanitarian organizations to condemn these inhumane crimes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, the international community is urged to condition its economic and political relations with this inhumane regime, being the source of all the devastations, pains and sufferings of the people of Iran and the entire region, on an improvement of human rights in Iran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: NCRI, June 22, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

France Iran Islamic Law Netherlands Ramadan sharia Call to halt execution of 2 prisoners in western Iran

Watching a public execution in Iran (file photo) On Wednesday, June 22, coinciding with a visit by the Iranian regime's Foreign Minister...

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Iran Regime Sentences Three Ahwazi Young Men To Public Execution

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWx1gmVOXRsaizIOXTqnYsP26Jr5Xn1Y71r8IoPe6Txb3QpjA_yjK1xzzSYUA27BUfc8xdorxnkAQIf07vf9p8pDKQ6eUw-ayHblDEq8AGmp46UnOk4IaUpuSBJPGtMCCz2RxLyVNldF4/s1600/Public+hanging+Iran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Public execution in Iran" border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWx1gmVOXRsaizIOXTqnYsP26Jr5Xn1Y71r8IoPe6Txb3QpjA_yjK1xzzSYUA27BUfc8xdorxnkAQIf07vf9p8pDKQ6eUw-ayHblDEq8AGmp46UnOk4IaUpuSBJPGtMCCz2RxLyVNldF4/s400/Public+hanging+Iran.jpg" title="Public execution in Iran" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A senior Iranian regime judiciary official has issued the final confirmation of the death penalty for three Ahwazi rights activists, with another four sentenced to between 25 and 35 years in prison, as well as exile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gholam-Hossein Mohsen Eie'I, the First Deputy Head of the Iranian regime's Judiciary, confirmed the sentences in an interview with the regime-affiliated Moj News Agency, adding that the sentences issued by the 'Revolutionary Court' in Ahwaz had been upheld by the Supreme Judicial Court in Tehran on appeal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3 of the defendants, Qais Obeidawi, Ahmad Obeidawi and Sajad Obeidawi were sentenced to death by public execution. Of the other 4, Mohammed Helfi and Mehdi Moarabi were sentenced to 35 years each, to be served in exile from the Ahwaz region (also known as 'Khuzestan province', the name it was given in 1936) in a prison in the city of Yazd, while Mehdi Sayahi and Ali Obeidawi were sentenced to 25 years each imprisonment. It should be noted that the 4 prisoners sentenced to lengthy prison terms were exiled to prisons outside the Ahwaz region in June of 2015.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 7 men were arrested in April of 2015 in the city of Hamidieh in the Ahwaz region on charges of killing an Iranian policeman at a checkpoint. They were subjected to kangaroo trials held in secret without being allowed any access to lawyers, a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions. The prisoners have also been prevented from having any contact with their families since their detention.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Human rights activists in Ahwaz, who strongly suspect that the men were tortured into confessing to the crime, a standard regime policy towards detainees, have demanded that the United Nations' International Council on Human Rights intervene to prevent the executions from taking place, warning that they are expected to be carried out imminently.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Iranian regime has stepped up its already brutal oppression of Ahwazi Arabs and other minorities in Iran under the administration of the "moderate reformist" President Hassan Rouhani. Since coming to power in 2013, Rouhani has presided over the execution of at least 1,800 people as well as public beatings, floggings, and amputations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The real number of the regime's victims is believed to be far higher than the publicly admitted figure, with many executions reportedly unannounced. With Ahwazi Arabs and other minorities increasingly viewed as a threat to the Islamic Republic's leadership's consolidation of a homogenous Persian Shiite nation, the theocratic regime is stepping up its already brutal repression in an effort to crush dissent, as well as implementing a policy of population transfer within Ahwaz as a means of changing the demographic composition of the region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rights groups pointed out that the primary goal of such executions is to intimidate further and terrorise Ahwazi Arabs into silence and submission following a wave of protests for freedom and human rights which have swept the Ahwazi, Baluchi, and Kurdish regions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is imperative that international human rights organisations and the United Nations put pressure on the Iranian regime to force it to desist from its systematic violence and oppression against Ahwazis and other minorities, and to respect the fundamental human and civil rights of Ahwazi Arabs, including the right to be educated in their own Arabic language, which they are currently denied, as well as the rights to employment, freedom of expression, free assembly and free association, as enshrined in international law.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We urge all human rights organisations and all peoples of good conscience worldwide to raise their voices and to contact their political representatives in order to force the Iranian regime to abandon its unconscionable state-sanctioned policies of racial segregation, oppression and brutality, and to free all prisoners of conscience and individuals detained simply for participating in peaceful demonstrations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Remaining silent in the face of such monstrous crimes against humanity should no longer be considered an option. In the words of Italian-American human rights activist Ginetta Sagan, 'silence in the face of injustice is complicity with the oppressor.'</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.countercurrents.org/hamid190616.htm" target="_blank">countercurrents.org</a>, Rahim Hamid, June 19, 2016. Rahim Hamid is an Ahwazi Arab freelance journalist based in the USA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Iran Islamic Law sharia Torture Iran Regime Sentences Three Ahwazi Young Men To Public Execution

A senior Iranian regime judiciary official has issued the final confirmation of the death penalty for three Ahwazi rights activists, with an...

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Iran: At Least 3 Prisoners Hanged at Bandar Abbas Central Prison on Drug Charges

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcn_AzDT722j7TTcVnVjwSIrlc7_n7mms6Po2iau6xqyeoOAkK1-_a_2cdopQVOt_YEEDIQ0PCSJ_qYmZGOJ6LXV-yoLHvB-bmQ7VIIYzPAlCOSA-nBVEk4EAKj1KyonXmbdZs1WLIodk/s1600/Execution+Iran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Public execution in Iran" border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcn_AzDT722j7TTcVnVjwSIrlc7_n7mms6Po2iau6xqyeoOAkK1-_a_2cdopQVOt_YEEDIQ0PCSJ_qYmZGOJ6LXV-yoLHvB-bmQ7VIIYzPAlCOSA-nBVEk4EAKj1KyonXmbdZs1WLIodk/s320/Execution+Iran.jpg" title="Public execution in Iran" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At least three prisoners were reportedly hanged in one day on drug charges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran Human Rights (June 18 2016): At leaast three prisoners with drug related charges were reportedly hanged at Bandar Abbas Central Prison (in the Hormozgan province, southern Iran) on the morning of Thursday June 16. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The official Iranian state-run news agency, Borna, has published the identities of the prisoners as: A.Z., Gh.A., and B.A.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The human rights news agency, HRANA, published a similar report, but listed the number of prisoners executed at Bandar Abbas Central Prison on June 16 as at least 4.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://iranhr.net/en/articles/2564/" target="_blank">Iran Human Rights</a>, June 18, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Drug trafficking Iran Islamic Law sharia Iran: At Least 3 Prisoners Hanged at Bandar Abbas Central Prison on Drug Charges

At least three prisoners were reportedly hanged in one day on drug charges. Iran Human Rights (June 18 2016): At leaast three prisoners with...

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Iran: Ongoing executions, torture and floggings in holy month of Ramadan

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJ6Dlwz2jBkWakO1dJCilSYKJIdixVaugXRKoPlLDzEhhzQRuWSxdvsvOD24EOhEQF0a4tbQ2jp9eeROgx5tM0iJCrPDm0ewLCctp2ngHEDeJBQ8bl1VU2RSPvFijk6OJ4jRUJtJcz80/s1600/flogging+in+Iran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Medieval punishments: Public flogging in Ira (file photo)" border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJ6Dlwz2jBkWakO1dJCilSYKJIdixVaugXRKoPlLDzEhhzQRuWSxdvsvOD24EOhEQF0a4tbQ2jp9eeROgx5tM0iJCrPDm0ewLCctp2ngHEDeJBQ8bl1VU2RSPvFijk6OJ4jRUJtJcz80/s400/flogging+in+Iran.jpg" title="Medieval punishments: Public flogging in Ira (file photo)" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medieval punishments: Public flogging in Iran (file photo)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The inhumane mullahs' regime is continuing its use of mass executions, barbaric punishments, floggings and widespread arrests during the holy month of Ramadan, which is considered amongst Muslims in Iran and all other Islamic countries as a period of friendship, kindness and benevolence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iranian authorities on June 15 sent 5 prisoners to the gallows in the central prisons of Bandar Abbas (southern Iran) and Yasouj (southwestern Iran). I</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">n the early days of Ramadan (2nd week of June) a deprived worker was horrifically flogged in public in the town of Ghir and Karzin in Fars Province (central Iran) under the pretext of eating during fasting hours. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A number of other people in various cities including Hamedan, Isfahan and Islam Shahr have been arrested for similar reasons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In another development, Mr. Iman Rashidi Yeganeh lost his life on June 10 after enduring 4 months of detention in appalling conditions in Parsiloun Prison of Khoram-Abad (western Iran) and being deprived of any medical care. He was mistakenly arrested back in March due to a name similarity. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, the criminal judge of the mullahs' so-called court refused to release this prisoner despite learning of his innocence and in the light of warnings issued by physicians.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The mullahs' inability and incapacity to temporarily put a lid on oppression, torture and executions, even in the sacred month of Ramadan, makes it crystal clear that the criminals ruling Iran cannot safeguard their rule for even 1 day without nooses and the use of torture against the people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Iranian Resistance calls on international human rights organizations to condemn the crimes of this regime and focus their efforts to entirely banish and expel the mullahs from the global community. The senior leaders of this regime, being a disgrace for modern humanity, must be placed before justice for their crimes against humanity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: NCRI, June 19, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Flogging Iran Islamic Law Medical care deprivation Ramadan sharia Torture Iran: Ongoing executions, torture and floggings in holy month of Ramadan

Medieval punishments: Public flogging in Iran (file photo) The inhumane mullahs' regime is continuing its use of mass executions, barbar...

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Public flogging videotaped in southern Iran city

NCRI - This is a video clip recently smuggled out of Iran which shows a man being flogged in public by the fundamentalist authorities.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The clip was filmed at Kouhpayeh Park in Shiraz, southern Iran.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FsFl6JPuQbc?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On May 25, the Iranian regime’s suppressive forces raided a party following a graduation ceremony in Qazvin, west of Tehran, and arrested 35 young men and women. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On that same day, all of the arrestees were condemned by the judiciary to 99 lashes and the sentences were immediately carried out by “Moral Security Police”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On May 31, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement saying: "We condemn the outrageous flogging of up to 35 young men and women in Iran last week, after they were caught holding a graduation party together in Qazvin, north of Tehran."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Source: <a href="http://ncr-iran.org/en/news/human-rights/20531-video-scene-of-public-flogging-in-southern-iran-city" target="_blank">NCRI</a>, June 14, 2016<br /><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div>

Flogging Iran Islamic Law sharia Videos Public flogging videotaped in southern Iran city

NCRI - This is a video clip recently smuggled out of Iran which shows a man being flogged in public by the fundamentalist authorities. The c...

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2016 Report: Death penalty for gay sex in 10 to 14 nations

<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_e24siI8vgepd4DKW4IRcXaqsv-eORFKVKQMlt95PcD373FWZcTxeX0nM3lh7sgxDWrqEPjAXwD8mpaZAfVjVTeZpVtURxtuaB5jOFcqD_uZGp0VvfMfD0inB0y2yopol4Ufd-c14Sx8/s1600/Executed+for+being+gay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_e24siI8vgepd4DKW4IRcXaqsv-eORFKVKQMlt95PcD373FWZcTxeX0nM3lh7sgxDWrqEPjAXwD8mpaZAfVjVTeZpVtURxtuaB5jOFcqD_uZGp0VvfMfD0inB0y2yopol4Ufd-c14Sx8/s400/Executed+for+being+gay.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>10 nations with large Muslim populations have laws providing for the death penalty for same-sex activity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Only a few actually impose the death sentence. Exactly how many is a difficult question.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="http://ilga.org/downloads/02_ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2016_ENG_WEB_150516.pdf" target="_blank">2016 State-Sponsored Homophobia report</a> from ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, lists 13-14 places that threaten the death penalty for homosexuality, including the basic 10 plus several specific variations:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One where executions occur - and go unpunished - despite the fact that there is no death-penalty law (<b>Iraq</b>);</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One that has approved a death-penalty provision but has not yet incorporated it into the nation's laws (<b>Brunei</b>);</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One that conducts executions but is not recognized as a nation (the Islamic State, also known as <b>Daesh</b>, <b>ISIS</b> and <b>ISIL</b>);</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One where, in theory, a particular interpretation of its laws would provide for the death penalty but, in practice, no executions have been reported (United Arab Emirates)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ILGA list is quite similar to this blog's list of those 14 countries, printed below:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A best-information-available list of countries/regions where executions for homosexual activity are carried out or are provided by current or future law:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nations with such laws on the books; executions have been carried out</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Iran</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Saudi Arabia</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nations with such laws on the books; no recent executions reported</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Sudan</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. Yemen</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nations with such laws on the books in part of the country; no verified executions for homosexual activity</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. Nigeria</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. Somalia</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nations with such laws on the books; no executions reported</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. Afghanistan</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. Mauritania</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">9. Pakistan</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">10. Qatar</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Those are the "10 nations with large Muslim populations" mentioned in this article's 1st paragraph." In addition, executions and possible executions are an issue in 4 other places:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nation with no such a law on the books; executions are carried out by militias and others</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">11. Iraq</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Not recognized as a nation; carries out executions</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">12. Daesh/the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nation where such a law was scheduled to take effect in 2016 (but might not)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">13. Brunei Darussalam</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nation where some interpretations of existing law would provide for the death penalty, but no executions have been reported</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">14. United Arab Emirates</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">News coverage in all of those nations is unreliable at best, so specific evidence of executions for same-sex intimacy is rare. What's known about some specific countries is cited below.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In <b>Somalia</b>, a <a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/2013/03/gay-teen-stoned-to-death-in-somalia.html" target="_blank">gay teenager was reportedly stoned to death in 2013</a>, but those reports have not been verified.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In <b>Nigeria</b>,<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6940061.stm" target="_blank"> the BBC reported in 2007</a>, "More than a dozen Nigerian Muslims have been sentenced to death by stoning and for sexual offences ranging from adultery and homosexuality. But none of these death sentences have actually been carried out as they were either thrown out on appeal or commuted to prison terms as a result of pressure from human rights groups."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85KMAwcQSWQ6aveguS1j5gJ4RUjyxxT5m6Ak7fKvfjyonv-tIcWiRfykQogXubTj1y2-ASaW6Hp9ZWJ5En6UIU3wImh7-KdKIxakySuFWqEh2wim-nVJ37CJxbDH3wJ62L_0yiuN9wxc/s1600/Executed+for+being+gay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85KMAwcQSWQ6aveguS1j5gJ4RUjyxxT5m6Ak7fKvfjyonv-tIcWiRfykQogXubTj1y2-ASaW6Hp9ZWJ5En6UIU3wImh7-KdKIxakySuFWqEh2wim-nVJ37CJxbDH3wJ62L_0yiuN9wxc/s320/Executed+for+being+gay.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In <b>Sudan</b>, the death penalty is in frequent use, but there are no recent reports of executions for same-sex intimacy. In 2014, Sudan ranked at No. 6 worldwide in number of executions (23+) for various offenses, just below the United States, with 35, <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act50/0001/2015/en/" target="_blank">according to Amnesty International</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Similarly, <b>Yemen </b>is No. 7 in frequency of executions overall, but the death penalty apparently has not been imposed recently for homosexual activity. <a href="http://www.refworld.org/docid/41501c7615.html" target="_blank">Researchers for Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board reported</a> more than 10 years ago, "Information on whether such sentences have been carried out was not found." More recently <a href="http://www.thetower.org/article/will-yemens-gay-community-survive-the-iran-backed-militias-trying-to-take-over/" target="_blank">an article on Yemen's gay community</a> in The Tower magazine stated, "Traditionally, that death penalty is not enforced, but citizens have been imprisoned for their sexual orientation."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Saudi Arabia</b> is No. 3 among the world's most avid executioners, with 90+ in 2014. At least in the past, beheadings were imposed for homosexual behavior, including <a href="http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?docid=3f7d4e1238" target="_blank">3 men in 2002</a>. Imprisonment and lashings are <a href="http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Persecution_of_Homosexuals_%28Saudi_Arabia%29" target="_blank">a more common punishment for same-sex activity</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Iran </b>is No. 2 in the world for frequency of executions, behind China. Those include executions for homosexual activity, although the facts are often unclear or misrepresented in such cases. (See, for example, "<a href="https://76crimes.com/2015/07/20/bogus-hanging-in-iran-bogus-tweets-in-egypt/" target="_blank">Bogus hanging in Iran, bogus tweets in Egypt</a>" and "<a href="https://76crimes.com/2014/08/11/series-of-public-hangings-in-iran-including-2-for-sodomy/" target="_blank">Series of public hangings in Iran, including 2 for sodomy.</a>")</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Evidence is a bit clearer about 2 war-torn areas - <b>Iraq </b>and the territory controlled by <b>Daesh/the Islamic State</b> (ISIS/ISIL). The ILGA report of 2015 noted that "Iraq, although [the death penalty is] not in the civil code, clearly has judges and militias throughout the country that issue the death sentence for same-sex sexual behaviours. ... We are also aware that in the Daesh (ISIS/ISIL)-held areas the death penalty is implemented (although a non-State actor, it is listed in the report)." For examples, see:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://76crimes.com/2012/09/28/iraq-has-become-a-death-trap-for-gay-men/" target="_blank">Iraq has become a death trap for gay men</a> (September 2012)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://76crimes.com/2015/05/07/islamic-state-has-reported-15-lgbti-executions/" target="_blank">Islamic State' has reported 15 LGBTI executions</a> (May 2015)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In some nations, the death penalty is on the books but is not imposed. ILGA in 2015 stated:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Brunei Darussalam</b> is due to activate t<a href="https://76crimes.com/tag/brunei/" target="_blank">he death penalty for same-sex sexual acts in 2016</a>, but it seems likely that like <b>Pakistan</b>, <b>Afghanistan</b> and <b>Qatar </b>although it is on the statute, it will not be implemented.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">ILGA reported in 2016 about Brunei: "there is no sign that the threatened death penalty is to be implemented."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the U.S. Department of State, Mauritania belongs in this category too. <a href="https://cablegatesearch.wikileaks.org/cable.php?id=09NOUAKCHOTT815" target="_blank">A U.S. Department of State cable from 2009, released by WikiLeaks in 2011</a>, indicated that Mauritania has never imposed the death penalty for homosexual activity or any other crime.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">ILGA reported in 2016 that "although is understood that the <b>United Arab Emirates</b> has not implemented [the death penalty] under the Sharia code, it remains a possibility under interpretations current in the Emirates."</div><i></i><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><i>This blog post is a reprint of the newly updated version of this blog’s page about countries that threaten the death penalty for homosexuality, incorporating newly released information from the <a href="http://ilga.org/downloads/02_ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2016_ENG_WEB_150516.pdf" target="_blank">2016 State-Sponsored Homophobia report</a> from ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.</i></i><br /><i><i><br /></i></i></div><br /><b>For more information:</b><br /><br /><ul><li><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/02/24/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death/" target="_blank">Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punished by death</a> (Washington Post)</li><li><a href="http://old.ilga.org/Statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2015.pdf" target="_blank">State-Sponsored Homophobia — 2015</a> (pdf) (ILGA)</li><li><a href="http://ilga.org/downloads/02_ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2016_ENG_WEB_150516.pdf" target="_blank">State-Sponsored Homophobia — 2016</a> (pdf) (ILGA)</li><li><a href="https://76crimes.com/2016/02/16/report-somalia-too-risky-for-lgbt-people/" target="_blank">Report: Somalia too risky for LGBT people</a> (February 2016, 76crimes.com)</li></ul><br /><ul><li><b>Find related content on DPN <a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.fr/search/label/Executed%20for%20being%20gay" target="_blank">here</a></b></li></ul><br />Source: <a href="https://76crimes.com/2016/06/08/death-penalty-for-gay-sex-in-10-to-14-nations-update/" target="_blank">76crimes.com</a>, June 9, 2016<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Afghanistan Brunei Executed for being gay Homosexuality Iran Iraq ISIS Islam Islamic Law LGBT Nigeria Pakistan Qatar Saudi Arabia sharia Somalia Sudan UAE Yemen 2016 Report: Death penalty for gay sex in 10 to 14 nations

10 nations with large Muslim populations have laws providing for the death penalty for same-sex activity. Only a few actually impose the dea...

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Meet Iran's gay mullah forced to flee the country

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76UT8lxI6kweAUF18E1YAc9gdt_eF0njzic-c7ZKsUGy9DD_ib9nn8TXFN4O2q8aXlnfmFkoEwt05m7A3uN18ohFNZGHo0hAYKJRrDvGhBdwXPXGHT4COna6rsb8r_qhnM9qmDFN3U5s/s1600/taha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Taha, one of the over 1,000 Iranian LGBT refugees in Turkey" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76UT8lxI6kweAUF18E1YAc9gdt_eF0njzic-c7ZKsUGy9DD_ib9nn8TXFN4O2q8aXlnfmFkoEwt05m7A3uN18ohFNZGHo0hAYKJRrDvGhBdwXPXGHT4COna6rsb8r_qhnM9qmDFN3U5s/s320/taha.jpg" title="Taha, one of the over 1,000 Iranian LGBT refugees in Turkey" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taha, one of the over 1,000 Iranian LGBT refugees in Turkey</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">In a country where gay sex is punishable by death, Taha dared to do the unthinkable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">BBC journalist Ali Hamedani visited Istanbul, Turkey where Taha—an Iranian mullah, or cleric—has fled after performing same-sex wedding ceremonies in one of the most dangerous nations on the earth for LGBT people. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Homosexuality is illegal in 73 countries, nine of which prescribe the death penalty, including Iran. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mullahs are highly powerful and respected in the Islamic nation, advising people on religious matters, which also means enforcing homophobia. So for Taha, life became very difficult when his fellow mullahs became suspicious of him and the gay men with whom he was associating. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Taha is one of the over 1,000 Iranian LGBT refugees the UN estimates is in Turkey waiting to be resettled abroad—his final stop will be Canada. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Istanbul is one of the few places in the Muslim world that's tolerant of homosexuality, and Taha takes Hamedani out on the gay town.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Though life in Istanbul isn't easy by any means, Taha's presence is comforting to fellow queer refugees, who seek out his services to wed them.<br /><br />For two such refugees, Ramtin Zigorat and his partner, a gay mullah is a big deal. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;">Source: <a href="http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2016/6/08/meet-gay-muslim-cleric-fleeing-iran-performing-secret-same-sex-weddings" target="_blank">OUT</a>, June 8, 2016</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1zT-tHjkHTo?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div>

Executed for being gay Gay Marriage Homosexuality Iran Islam Islamic Law LGBT sharia Turkey Meet Iran's gay mullah forced to flee the country

Taha, one of the over 1,000 Iranian LGBT refugees in Turkey In a country where gay sex is punishable by death, Taha dared to do the unthinka...

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Iran: 7 prisoners hanged in Mashhad, Shiraz and Tehran

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywqgvBJYT5vNkJV4l1XJ6eXErQMkBkZxqp_8GnDZPtNrCNyoU9K6gKXb59SVvWOp_3umuZyAQTORbuhUofMNA4TJZbLTa0pOALVLnNSsWgFvSk0CEPVrWtr3p6JfbIg_hPb6XQui0Uac/s1600/Public+hanging+Iran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywqgvBJYT5vNkJV4l1XJ6eXErQMkBkZxqp_8GnDZPtNrCNyoU9K6gKXb59SVvWOp_3umuZyAQTORbuhUofMNA4TJZbLTa0pOALVLnNSsWgFvSk0CEPVrWtr3p6JfbIg_hPb6XQui0Uac/s400/Public+hanging+Iran.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The clerical regime's news agencies reported that 7 prisoners were executed in the past 3 days in Mashhad, Shiraz and Tehran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The state-run Rokna website wrote on Tuesday, June 7, that 3 men, aged 30, 35 and 40, who had been sentenced by the so-called Revolutionary Court in Mashhad, north-east Iran, were hanged on Monday in the central prison of Mashhad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Iranian regime's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), reported on Monday that 2 Afghan citizens were hanged in a prison in Tehran. It did not give the names of the victims. The agency wrote that at the time of the execution, the regime's prosecutor in Pardis and the chief of the city's repressive police force were present.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The clerical regime's official news agency, IRNA, announced on Sunday, June 5, that 2 prisoners were hanged in public in Shiraz, southern Iran. The 2 prisoners were identified as 22-year-old Amin D., and 28-year-old Mojtaba G. They were executed simultaneously in Shiraz.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The latest hangings bring to at least 127 the number of people executed in Iran since April 10. 3 of those executed were women and 2 are believed to have been juvenile offenders.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ms. Farideh Karimi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and a human rights activist, last month called for an urgent response by the United Nations and foreign governments to the recent spate of executions and the appalling state of human rights in Iran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran's fundamentalist regime last month amputated the fingers of a man in his 30s in Mashhad, the latest in a line of draconian punishments handed down and carried out in recent weeks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on April 13 that the increasing trend of executions "aimed at intensifying the climate of terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the society, especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials, demonstrates that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this medieval regime."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the 2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to at least 743 the year before."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East and North Africa, the human rights group said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There have been more than 2,400 executions during Hassan Rouhani's tenure as President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the executions as examples of "God's commandments" and "laws of the parliament that belong to the people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: NCR-Iran, June 8, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

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The clerical regime's news agencies reported that 7 prisoners were executed in the past 3 days in Mashhad, Shiraz and Tehran. The state-...

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Two Afghan Citizens Hanged In Iran; Lawyer Carried Out The Executions

<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-Q2lQv_InuPv2PBBP4U7j7OIIIDpbcDT_PJU3XoozTgnNKZta_kmqfxnCdH2oCyR2WpeAhkiMBM4hPKFWH176zsnRo73Z3qO3u7lK1cVnNJn468KRA7L5a47Vai8dz5gdPiRRAbbtAE/s1600/Execution+Iran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-Q2lQv_InuPv2PBBP4U7j7OIIIDpbcDT_PJU3XoozTgnNKZta_kmqfxnCdH2oCyR2WpeAhkiMBM4hPKFWH176zsnRo73Z3qO3u7lK1cVnNJn468KRA7L5a47Vai8dz5gdPiRRAbbtAE/s400/Execution+Iran.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>A lawyer reportedly has carried out executions in one of Tehran's prisons. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the state-run Iranian news agency Fars, 2 Afghan citizens were hanged in a prison in Tehran. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The prisoners were reportedly convicted of several cases of rape and robbery. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The names of the prisoners, the date of their executions, or the exact location of the executions were not revealed in the report, which was published on Sunday June 5.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A lawyer for 1 of the complainants reportedly carried out the executions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The lawyer, who was not identified by name, told Fars News Agency: "On the request of 1 of the complainants, I personally carried out the punishments." This is despite that the prisoners were reportedly charged with rape and not murder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to Iranian laws, families of murder victims may carry out the execution of the murderer. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran may be the only country where the execution of rape [convicts] could be carried out by the lawyer of a complainant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran Human Rights (IHR) condemns the executions. "It is outrageous that lawyers are carrying out executions. Iran's leaders are responsible for promoting a culture of death penalty in Iran," says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson for IHR.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://iranhr.net/en/articles/2557/" target="_blank">Iran Human Rights</a>, June 6, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Iran Islamic Law sharia Two Afghan Citizens Hanged In Iran; Lawyer Carried Out The Executions

A lawyer reportedly has carried out executions in one of Tehran's prisons.  According to the state-run Iranian news agency Fars, 2 Afgha...

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Pakistan hangings pass 400

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4pUIByWUe8G-kSfpS1horpKEmCVRhOv9hYIe1NiGMQbdC1Z438fvkTqHC3ZbN9Qrn1uqh3-bS3U_lMyGEBVXkv1_C5GDjqlVmljugVPA8tZwZ38W0UQWtd7OjGVDGlHUITz6PypmGuKA/s1600/Death+Penalty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4pUIByWUe8G-kSfpS1horpKEmCVRhOv9hYIe1NiGMQbdC1Z438fvkTqHC3ZbN9Qrn1uqh3-bS3U_lMyGEBVXkv1_C5GDjqlVmljugVPA8tZwZ38W0UQWtd7OjGVDGlHUITz6PypmGuKA/s400/Death+Penalty.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pakistan has executed over 400 people since resuming hangings in December 2014, according to new research from international human rights organisation Reprieve.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The country has become one of the world’s most prolific executioners since lifting a moratorium on hangings which had been in place for several years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to publicly-available data analyzed by Reprieve, June has seen four hangings so far, bringing the total since the lifting of the moratorium to 404 – although the figure could be higher as not all executions in the country are necessarily reported.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">72 of those hangings have taken place in 2016, which means that Pakistan likely holds its position in the world’s top five executioners for the year so far - behind China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, but ahead of the USA. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pakistan has seen a number of controversial death penalty cases recently. Abdul Basit, a paralysed prisoner who needs to use a wheelchair, continues to be held under sentence of death despite concerns that there is no way to execute him that would not carry a high risk of prolonged suffering. He recently told his lawyers that, during a previous attempt to hang him, the prison authorities had built a slope or ramp up to the gallows in order to take him to be hanged in his wheelchair.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also facing potential imminent execution is Muhammad Anwar, despite his having been arrested as a child. His case is currently before Pakistan’s Supreme Court, as both Pakistani and international law prohibit the execution of people arrested for alleged offences which took place when they were under 18.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Commenting, Maya Foa, Director of Reprieve’s Death Penalty Team said: “That Pakistan has gone from a non-executing state to executing over 400 people in little over 18 months is truly shocking. The Pakistani Government seems indifferent to the plight of the many prisoners who should not even be on death row – those arrested as children, or suffering from severe physical or mental illnesses. They need to put a halt to all executions until a full review of this chaotic capital punishment system can be carried out.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reprieve estimates that Pakistan’s current rate of execution for 2016 so far means it maintains its place in the world’s top five executioners, according to available figures. Reprieve is yet to finalise estimates for Saudi Arabia and Iran, but the former is believed to have executed close to 100 people, and the latter 195 (according to <a href="http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/publications/human-rights-data/chart-of-executions/1000000620-ihrdc-chart-of-executions-by-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-2016.html" target="_blank">Iran Human Rights</a>), in 2016 so far. Due to state secrecy, figures are unavailable for China but guesswork by human rights organizations tends to put them in the thousands. According to the <a href="http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/execution-list-2016" target="_blank">Death Penalty Information Centre</a> (DPIC), US executions for 2016 so far total 14. Due to the conflict in Iraq, it is extremely difficult to determine the use of the death penalty there, but according to Cornell Law School’s ‘<a href="http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=iraq" target="_blank">Death Penalty Worldwide</a>’ site, there have been 22 executions confirmed for 2016.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Reprieve, June 7, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span>

Abdul Basit China Disabled inmate Iran Iraq Juvenile offenders Pakistan Saudi Arabia USA Pakistan hangings pass 400

Pakistan has executed over 400 people since resuming hangings in December 2014, according to new research from international human rights or...

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Iran: Two Men Hanged in Public in Shiraz

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWYdOOkay2gs6jYuFcLk2REsPK6FVNa3G2ZcredKFzyqNHxDK-ZyIpTrNvFUHHg0u7eBo2AV7GWecp8GAFmGJGK-vMT5ANbL0MxkYaJwYr1rHtoN6GqlL08Zls3gAEgTONOvB-k1NY9o/s1600/Shiraz+Iran+5+JUNE+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWYdOOkay2gs6jYuFcLk2REsPK6FVNa3G2ZcredKFzyqNHxDK-ZyIpTrNvFUHHg0u7eBo2AV7GWecp8GAFmGJGK-vMT5ANbL0MxkYaJwYr1rHtoN6GqlL08Zls3gAEgTONOvB-k1NY9o/s400/Shiraz+Iran+5+JUNE+2016.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Public hanging in Shiraz, Iran, on June 5, 2016</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Iranian authorities hanged two men in public on Sunday June 5 in Shiraz, southern Iran.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran Human Rights (June 6 2016): Two men were hanged in public in the city of Shiraz (province of Fars, southern Iran) early morning on Sunday June 5. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to confirmed reports, there were dozens of people watching the execution, including small children. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to a report by Iranian state-run news agency, Rokna, one of the prisoners, identified as "Mojtaba G", was executed for "committing an act of rape before attempting murder". </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other prisoner, unidentified, was reportedly executed for "Corruption on earth". The unidentified prisoner was reportedly scheduled to be hanged in public on Thursday June 2, but his execution was reportedly postponed for a few days due to unknown reasons. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In an earlier report by Iran Human Rights, citing the state-run news agency, Mizan, the unidentified man was sentenced to death for creating an environment of instability in Shiraz by attacking the homes of residents at night and committing acts of rape.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Over the two weeks, there were six public executions reported in Fars, five of them were reportedly carried out in Shiraz. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to statistics gathered by Iran Human Rights, in the past several years, the province of Fars has been home to the most public executions in Iran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Iran Human Rights, June 6, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Iran Islamic Law Public hanging sharia Iran: Two Men Hanged in Public in Shiraz

Public hanging in Shiraz, Iran, on June 5, 2016 Iranian authorities hanged two men in public on Sunday June 5 in Shiraz, southern Iran. Iran...

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Iran: Two hanged in Qazvin prison

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywqgvBJYT5vNkJV4l1XJ6eXErQMkBkZxqp_8GnDZPtNrCNyoU9K6gKXb59SVvWOp_3umuZyAQTORbuhUofMNA4TJZbLTa0pOALVLnNSsWgFvSk0CEPVrWtr3p6JfbIg_hPb6XQui0Uac/s1600/Public+hanging+Iran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywqgvBJYT5vNkJV4l1XJ6eXErQMkBkZxqp_8GnDZPtNrCNyoU9K6gKXb59SVvWOp_3umuZyAQTORbuhUofMNA4TJZbLTa0pOALVLnNSsWgFvSk0CEPVrWtr3p6JfbIg_hPb6XQui0Uac/s400/Public+hanging+Iran.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran's fundamentalist regime has hanged a man and a woman in a prison in Qazvin, north-west of Tehran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The woman was not named, but the office of the regime's prosecutor-general in Qazvin Province said that she had been imprisoned since 2014.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The regime's local deputy prosecutor was present to oversee the execution, the state-run Borna news agency reported on Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The man was identified only as Amir Q., the official state broadcaster IRIB said in its website for Qazvin Province. He was arrested on May 30, 2011.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The latest hangings bring to at least 120 the number of people executed in Iran since April 10. Three of those executed were women and 2 are believed to have been juvenile offenders.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ms. Farideh Karimi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and a human rights activist, last month called for an urgent response by the United Nations and foreign governments to the recent spate of executions and the appalling state of human rights in Iran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran's fundamentalist regime last month amputated the fingers of a man in his 30s in Mashhad, the latest in a line of draconian punishments handed down and carried out in recent weeks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on April 13 that the increasing trend of executions "aimed at intensifying the climate of terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the society, especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials, demonstrates that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this medieval regime."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the 2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to at least 743 the year before."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East and North Africa, the human rights group said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There have been more than 2,400 executions during Hassan Rouhani's tenure as President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the executions as examples of "God's commandments" and "laws of the parliament that belong to the people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: NCR-Iran, June 3, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Iran Islamic Law sharia Women Iran: Two hanged in Qazvin prison

Iran's fundamentalist regime has hanged a man and a woman in a prison in Qazvin, north-west of Tehran. The woman was not named, but the ...

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Saudi Court Sentences 14 to Death in Attacks on Security Forces

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1sWepxbCQRdSjZ4dm0cWkez8sZzbfxJ16elNHL6Gg1i1fA7Z6l9VlZOW7aTfJc0W2hOU18rLoYwJPyG1Xo-w1IYPPyeYlYpx-Q-sPfh_ODx9MAd52ux6U5znzjH4oPFHhyFYRGfQGlSY/s1600/Public+execution+Saudi+Arabia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Public execution in Saudi Arabia" border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1sWepxbCQRdSjZ4dm0cWkez8sZzbfxJ16elNHL6Gg1i1fA7Z6l9VlZOW7aTfJc0W2hOU18rLoYwJPyG1Xo-w1IYPPyeYlYpx-Q-sPfh_ODx9MAd52ux6U5znzjH4oPFHhyFYRGfQGlSY/s320/Public+execution+Saudi+Arabia.jpg" title="Public execution in Saudi Arabia" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Public execution in Saudi Arabia</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">RIYADH — A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 men to death on Wednesday in connection with attacks on security forces in a Shiite area in the country’s east, the Al Arabiya satellite network reported.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of the 24 people tried, one was acquitted and nine others were given sentences ranging from three to 15 years, the network said. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Those sentenced to death were accused of terrorism.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The men were arrested a few years ago, when protests by members of Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority roiled the Qatif area of Eastern Province, leading to clashes with the security forces that left dead about 20 protesters and a number of police officers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many Shiites complain of discrimination in the Sunni-majority kingdom whose official creed considers some Shiite beliefs and practices heretical.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Saudi government characterized the protesters as rioters who harbored armed groups, and it has put some of them on trial on charges that include terrorism. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Western human rights groups have accused the Saudi government of using the courts to stifle dissent and convicting activists on trumped up charges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The executions could escalate tensions with Saudi Arabia’s regional Shiite rival, Iran. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Saudi Arabia’s execution of an outspoken Shiite cleric in January sparked protests in Tehran, and Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties after protesters stormed its embassy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The men’s death sentences can be appealed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/02/world/middleeast/saudi-shiites-death-sentences.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>, Ben Hubbard, June 1, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Iran Islamic Law Middle East Saudi Arabia sharia Shiites Sunnis Terrorism Saudi Court Sentences 14 to Death in Attacks on Security Forces

Public execution in Saudi Arabia RIYADH — A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 men to death on Wednesday in connection with attacks on secur...

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Saving young lives from execution in Iran

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbf7JmiB-tKrl3DPH0l5AQ5Q2ju7olZHQxVzRr_aod4m3lt0JGH-eMkdOmrJT1p2L3dT-y3V0X8ooovS5RmMkvro_DMENbcf9gcJzVIE6HXTgch2sGy5pCDSCzuGrUP-TLfqB5GlFuVxE/s1600/Iran+Death+Penalty+For+Juvenile+Offenders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbf7JmiB-tKrl3DPH0l5AQ5Q2ju7olZHQxVzRr_aod4m3lt0JGH-eMkdOmrJT1p2L3dT-y3V0X8ooovS5RmMkvro_DMENbcf9gcJzVIE6HXTgch2sGy5pCDSCzuGrUP-TLfqB5GlFuVxE/s400/Iran+Death+Penalty+For+Juvenile+Offenders.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>To mark 1 June - International Children's Day - Raha Bahreini from our Iran team describes how Amnesty has managed to raise awareness about the death penalty and save juvenile offenders from the gallows in Iran.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It starts with a panicked phone call.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our contact tells us that a juvenile offender (a person aged below 18 at the time of their crime) has just been transferred to solitary confinement - the final step before execution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is often our 1st glimpse of this young person and the desperate situation they are in. Why? Because the families of those on death row often fear reprisals if they publicize the plight of their loved ones. They sometimes believe that international lobbying and public campaigning will only complicate the situation and hasten the execution. At times, the authorities themselves give families false assurances, claiming that if the family does not publicize the case, their loved ones might be spared.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The moment we are prompted to intervene is often the moment when the authorities' promises are exposed as hollow and the young person is just days or hours away from execution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>A race against the clock</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once we get the call, it's a race against the clock - and winning literally becomes a matter of life and death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We scramble to collect court documents and testimonies, verifying them through reliably informed sources. We work swiftly and under pressure alongside our media and campaigning colleagues to issue a press release and send urgent appeals to our network of activists. We co-ordinate efforts among our global offices and organize Twitter storms, letter-writing campaigns, and email actions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Through all this, we urge our activists to generate a global outcry about this young person who, up until a few days ago, had been suffering in isolation on death row.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once we have exhausted every avenue, there is nothing left to do but wait.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At this point, we feel helpless, imagining that young person frightened and alone in their cell. We keep in touch with our contacts, scrabbling for updates. Iran is several hours ahead of London and they execute at dawn, so we keep awake until late, checking our phones for good news - while dreading the worst.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Lives saved</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our greatest moments of relief come when we hear that we have saved a life - as we did when Alireza Tajiki was spared execution last month. He had been arrested when he was just 15 years old and sentenced to death in 2013 on the basis of torture-tainted "confessions". When we learned of his execution date, we had just 4 days to save him. But in those four days we got hundreds of people to appeal to Iran's authorities while we engaged in diplomatic interventions. And it worked. The authorities stopped his execution within 24 hours of the moment he was scheduled to be hanged. Although Alireza Tajiki is still at risk of execution, this short-term victory gives us time to build on our efforts to save him once and for all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alireza isn't our only success. There is Salar Shadizadi, who we saved twice from execution. Like Alireza, he was sentenced to death for a crime committed when he was 15 years old. First, we convinced the authorities to postpone his execution and move him out of solitary confinement in August 2015. When they rescheduled his execution to November, we stopped them again - despite having just a few days to do it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZQ3QEO8Oz4Ju2dayq4RpGg0jIiY8MEmucqSjKsQqumYwdh2UGFmWBRTWhIL80xgoUb2rTz-NDGkSGy91rheLQLApjROICFfk7bx38lAaKyT1_kZuWQyvp-d3BiMvO4K4t7dmvYeYMy8/s1600/Iran+executes+juvenile+offenders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZQ3QEO8Oz4Ju2dayq4RpGg0jIiY8MEmucqSjKsQqumYwdh2UGFmWBRTWhIL80xgoUb2rTz-NDGkSGy91rheLQLApjROICFfk7bx38lAaKyT1_kZuWQyvp-d3BiMvO4K4t7dmvYeYMy8/s320/Iran+executes+juvenile+offenders.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There was also Saman Naseem, who had been scheduled to hang in February 2015. He was sentenced to death based on "confessions" that he said were extracted through torture. We launched a worldwide campaign to stop his execution. Then, the day before the execution, Saman was transferred to an undisclosed location where he remained for the next 5 months. In that time, we mobilized our activists to demand that the authorities reveal his fate and whereabouts. In July 2015, his family was finally informed that he was alive and was allowed to visit him. The authorities quashed his death sentence and granted him a retrial - 2 positive steps that we had campaigned for.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The power of a movement</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Over the past 18 months, thousands of people worldwide have spoken out against Iran's use of the death penalty on juvenile offenders, which is illegal under international law.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These efforts have shed light on the plight of more than 160 juvenile offenders languishing on Iran's death row. They have also hugely increased the reputational cost of executing juvenile offenders for the Iranian authorities.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With help from Amnesty's supporters, we have achieved a fantastic outcome for Alireza, Salar and Saman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But our work is far from finished. The immediate threat of execution may be over, but the tortuous waiting game continues for these and other young people growing up on Iran's death row. Only yesterday, Mohammad Reza Haddadi - who has spent the last 12 years on death row for a crime committed when he was 15 - was spared execution a 6th time, thanks to yet another public campaign on his behalf.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And so our struggle continues, until the authorities stop giving juvenile offenders the death penalty - so that no child faces the gallows in Iran again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Raha Bahreini, Amnesty International, June 1, 2016<br /><br /><b>Related (and recommended) content:</b><br /><ul><li><a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.fr/2016/01/waiting-to-die-iranian-child-inmates.html" target="_blank">Waiting to die: the Iranian child inmates facing execution – in pictures</a>, The Guardian, January 13, 2016</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Call to revoke young man's death sentence</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Iranian Resistance is calling for the cancellation of a death sentence issued for Mohammad Reza Haddadi, aged 15 at the time of his alleged crime, and requests from all human rights organizations, especially the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary Executions and UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran to take urgent action aimed at forcing the cancellation of this criminal execution. Haddadi has been held in Adel Abad Prison of Shiraz, central Iran, for the past 13 years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moreover, three prisoners in the cities of Shiraz, Kavar (located 51 kilometers south of Shiraz) and Nour (in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran) were hanged through the span of May 28th to the 30th.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 inmates were also hanged on May 31st in Noshahr Prison (northern Iran). Therefore, the number of executions in Iran reached 73 in the month of May.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Executions, lashing and torture, especially against the youth, reflect the increasing fear sensed by the fascist regime ruling Iran regarding an imminent eruption of anger and social protests. These developments reveal that the mask of moderation used by the criminals ruling Iran is nothing but a deceptive plot.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/human-rights/20468-iran-call-to-revoke-young-man-s-death-sentence" target="_blank">NCRI</a>, May 31, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Amnesty International Iran Islamic Law Juvenile offenders sharia Torture Saving young lives from execution in Iran

To mark 1 June - International Children's Day - Raha Bahreini from our Iran team describes how Amnesty has managed to raise awareness ab...

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