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Unveiling Singapore’s Death Penalty Discourse: A Critical Analysis of Public Opinion and Deterrent Claims

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While Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) maintains a firm stance on the effectiveness of the death penalty in managing drug trafficking in Singapore, the article presents evidence suggesting that the methodologies and interpretations of these studies might not be as substantial as portrayed.

Canada Condemns Execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari by “Murderous regime” in Iran

Reyhaneh Jabbari
Reyhaneh Jabbari
The government of Canada condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari the “latest victim of a murderous regime.”

The Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird released the following statement on Saturday:

“Canada condemns in the strongest possible terms Iran’s execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 26-year old interior designer and the latest victim of a murderous regime.

“In 2009, Ms. Jabbari was convicted after a deeply flawed trial process of killing a man she claims was trying to sexually assault her. Today, Iran executed her despite international efforts to see a fair trial and justice properly served.

“The execution of Ms. Jabbari is another truly tragic example of Iran’s contempt for due process and of systemic flaws within Iran’s judicial system.

“Canada strongly believes that due process and the rule of law are fundamental to ensuring human rights and dignity. By failing to accord Ms. Jabbari due process, Iran has once again cynically demonstrated its unwillingness to live up to international human rights obligations and to respect the dignity and rights of its people. The people of Iran, and on this day particularly the family of Reyhaneh Jabbari, deserve better.”

Source: NCRI, October 26, 2014


Iran Capital Punishment Still A Major Controversy

In a world where many types of capital punishment are considered wrong, Iran's capital punishment continues to hit an all time high with people everywhere as it causes major controversy, and is still something people continue to fight against. The most recent hanging of a woman who claimed self defense has aggravated Iranian residents, human rights groups, and many citizens of other countries. As the capital punishment of hanging has been around in Iran for a long time, the way that the country goes about it seems to be a bit lenient.

On Saturday in Tehran a woman named Reyhaneh Jabbari was executed after trial for killing a man in self defense. She claimed that the man, a doctor and former intelligence agent, was trying to rape her when she attacked and killed him. Though the court stated that the evidence proved that Jabbari had planned to kill the man, as she stabbed him in the back after buying a knife two days earlier. She was sentenced to be hanged but the issue raised much concern, pulling in governments of other countries such as Germany, the United States, Britain and other European countries, who ordered the Iranian government to stop the execution as they worked to prove that the trial against the woman was fair. However, despite negations from these countries, as well as human rights groups, the Iranian government executed Jabbari by hanging.

As hanging is the form of capital punishment in the country, it has always received disapproval from other countries and human rights groups. Though hanging has previously been a form of punishment for crimes in the countries who object, such as the United States and Britain, the trials were almost always considered fair and the executions considered quick and painless. However, in Iran many executions seem to come after unfair trials, with bias, and public condemnation. The most recent sentencing of Jabbari for hanging, disgruntled human rights groups because they called it injustice to women, which Iranians have been accused of many times before. The most recent sentencing also caused quite an uproar of international complaint, as well as nationally among residents. Though the country's executions have always had a tendency to do that.

The capital punishment there still causes a major controversy because most others, who are not involved in the Iranian government, see the executions as unjust. The country has a reputation for hanging those who are innocent, have killed in self defense, or have simply angered the government though no actual crime was committed. While these rumors are speculation, as some who have been executed may have actually committed the crimes they were accused of, it always seems that when someone in Iran in sentenced to execution, residents, rights groups, and other countries start crying injustice.

Perhaps it is because they are the second leading country in the number of executions (though they may have moved up to first now with the number of executions they have been performing just in the year 2014). At any given time someone could be roaming around Iranian cities and see dead bodies hanging off the backs of cranes. These bodies, many of them, are simply executed for crimes against the government. In addition, it has been said that Iran does not often hang just 1 body at a time. Human rights groups have also had a field day with the rumors that Iran hangs men just for being gay, something that came about when 2 men were hung together, as residents claimed that they had been convicted of sodomy. A riot in the country has also broke out many times as victims scream of their innocence before their executions, leaving many residents to protest.

These images just do not paint a "just" picture and with all of the rumors that go around about the reasons why Iranians are hung, it is no wonder why people question the capital punishment there. Many say the form of punishment just seems to be a grim way for Iran to unfairly accuse and execute whoever they want. The hangings may be justified, but if they continue adding to the numbers of execution that seem to be just putting themselves in the spotlight, over their form of capital punishment, the major controversy may just continue.

Source: guardianlv.com, October 27, 2014


US Condemns Iranian Woman's Execution

The United States has condemned Iran for executing a woman convicted of killing a man to defend herself from an alleged sexual assault.

The 26-year-old woman, Reyhaneh Jabbari, was hanged Saturday morning. The death penalty went ahead after the family of her alleged assailant, a former Iranian intelligence agent, refused to pardon her or accept financial compensation.

At the U.S. State Department, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said there were "serious concerns with the fairness" of the case, including reports that confessions were "made under severe duress."

Psaki said the United States condemns Iran for killing Jabbari "despite pleas from Iranian human-rights activists and an international outcry."

Jabbari said Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi was trying to rape her. She said she acted in self-defense when she stabbed him, but prosecutors said the attack was premeditated, and noted the dead man had been stabbed in the back.

The stabbing occurred in 2007. Jabbari was sentenced to death in 2009 under the Islamic principle of "an eye for an eye."

During the trial, Iran's official IRNA news agency said, there was testimony that Jabbari told a friend in a text message that she intended to kill Sarbandi, as well as alleged evidence that she purchased the knife involved only 2 days before putting it to use.

In a statement before the woman was hanged, Amnesty International said the "deeply flawed" prosecution did not appear "to have ever properly investigated" Jabbari's statement that another man present at the time of the stabbing was Sarbandi's killer.

The U.S. State Department spokeswoman said the United States joins "with those who call on Iran to respect the fair-trial guarantees afforded to its people under Iran's own laws and its international obligations."

Source: Voice of America News, October 27, 2014


Social Media Couldn't Save Reyhaneh Jabbari

A campaign to halt an Iranian woman's execution was ultimately unsuccessful.

On Saturday, Iran hanged a woman convicted of murdering a former intelligence officer she claimed had attempted to rape her - a defense the court and the man's family ultimately rejected.

IRNA, Iran's official news agency, says 27-year-old Reyhaneh Jabbari was hanged at dawn Saturday for the 2007 murder. The court ruling dismissed Jabbari's claim of attempted rape, saying all evidence proved she had planned to kill Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former intelligence agent, after having purchased a knife 2 days earlier. However, the United Nations called on Iran for a retrial, saying the incident never received a full investigation and that she was denied a fair trial.

A robust campaign led by human-rights groups and prominent Iranians, which was amplified through social media, appeared to be gaining traction and it seemed for a short time that the sentence would be commuted. However, the execution was carried out after Sarbandi's family refused to pardon Jabbari or accept blood money - a possible provision under Sharia law.

"The shocking news that Reyhaneh Jabbari has been executed is deeply disappointing in the extreme," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Program, in a statement. "This is another bloody stain on Iran's human rights record."

"Once again Iran has insisted on applying the death penalty despite serious concerns over the fairness of the trial," said Sahraoui.

In the U.S., the State Department took to Twitter to condemn the execution.

Source: The Atlantic, October 27, 2014

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