Iran continued frenetic pace of capital punishment in 2011

PARIS, Feb 23 (KUNA) - Iran now holds second position in absolute numbers among world nations executing its people and ranks only behind China in carrying out an expanding policy of capital punishment. But in "proportional per capita" terms, Iran leads all countries carrying out death sentences worldwide, according to information from Human Rights groups here.

Iranian authorities have kept up an alarming cadence of executions that began after the troubled elections in that country in 2009 and is using capital punishment as a means of political repression and terror, the sources indicated.

"China executes thousands every year but, proportionately, Iran is the leader based on their comparative populations," Nicolas Braye, an official at "Together Against the Death Penalty (TADP)" said Thursday.

Moreover, Iran only announced 62 percent of cases of capital punishment in 2011, when the number of executions rose to 676 from 646 a year earlier. The government officially acknowledges putting to death 416 people last year, and 60 of these were public events, Braye indicated to KUNA in an exclusive interview.

"What distinguishes the 2011 report from those of preceding years is the dramatic increase in the number of public executions," the NGO said.

"Iran is using executions to terrorise the population," Braye affirmed.

"What it seems from the numbers is a deliberate policy to terrorise people and deter any notion of adopting an 'Arab Spring' stance by the people," he added in the interview.

The NGO said the number of public executions in 2011 had tripled compared with those in preceding years and this is being viewed as a government method to discourage any political dissent or "non-conformist" behaviour.

"Iran is also one of the only countries to use the death penalty as a means of repression against political opponents. A recent law approved by the Guardians of the Revolution Council has increased the number of crimes punishable by death. Three Internet site designers are currently on death row, " the abolitionist NGO said.

Braye also noted that Iran had executed four juveniles who were underage when they were sentenced and he dismissed as "unsatisfactory" ambiguous Iranian efforts to modify the law to protect minors from capital punishment.

"They are still considering the 15-18 age group as (adults) but have protected the below 15 year-olds," he observed.

The official and his NGO defended the reliability of their sources, saying that almost two-thirds of executions were officially announced in Iran and the remainder were confirmed through independent sources.

Source: Kuwait News Agency, Feb. 23, 2012

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